A BID to gain funding for a comprehensive survey of wildlife in the Malvern Hills has failed.

The Malvern Hills Conservators wanted to give an officer the task of documenting the district's flora and fauna.

The authority applied to the Government's Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund for £27,000 of the £31,700 needed.

The fund, which has provided money for a new easy access path at Earnslaw Quarry, was set up to re-distribute money to areas where quarrying has taken place.

However, the bid failed and the Conservators are now waiting to hear if a similar fund will be set up again this year.

Conservation officer David Whitehorne said the information would be useful to help plan activities on and around the hills. "Information is something you can never have too much of," he said.

Mr Whitehorne said amateur naturalists would have been interviewed about their findings on the hills. Quarries would also have been surveyed to find out what is living in them - something that has never happened before.