A 12-strong army of hand-reared cattle is due to be released on Ronkswood Hill Meadows on Monday as part of an unusual conservation exercise by Worcester City Council.

The cattle will be allowed free reign on the Local Nature Reserve site to help preserve grassland and wild flowers.

The initiative is designed to act as a natural and cost-effective way of keeping the grass short enough to allow the vast array of wildflowers in the area to get enough sunlight to grow, and hopefully thrive.

Green Network Officer Warwick Neale said: "Cattle are part of nature's management plan and help to maintain the balance of plantlife and wildlife, however they have not been a permanent fixture on the meadows for more than 30 years.

"We are re-introducing the cattle for around six months in a bid to regain some of the traditional benefits of natural stewardship."

The meadows are home to a wide range of wildfowers including black knapweed, cowslips and birdsfoot trefoil but if grass grows too high these flowers will not flourish.

The cattle, operating round-the-clock, seven days a week, will therefore play a pivotal role in boosting such flora and fauna as well as producing other positive spin-offs such as an increase in butterflies and improvements to the natural soil environment.

The only potential problem is that people are not used to seeing cows on the meadows.

To counter this, the city council will be siting signs at the Newtown Road and Tolladine Road ends to warn walkers and dog-owners to just take a little extra care and keep dogs on a lead or under close control when cattle are nearby.

"The sudden re-appearance of cattle may take a few people by surprise," added Mr Neale "but they will probably be too busy chewing the cud to take notice of any passers-by themselves."