A RARE meadow in the heart of Arrow Valley Park is to be preserved for the future after the council secured a £4,000 grant from the Government.

Ipsley Meadows is a mosaic of scrub habitat and long grass, which is a haven for wildlife.

But this type of environment is now rare, having been devastated by intense farming, say countryside experts

Now the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries has agreed to fund a 10-year programme to enhance the landscape and restore and plant hedgerows for future generations.

One of the aims is to clearly define the shape of the fields within the park.

The Body Shop, in the Kingfisher Centre, is also helping out and this week volunteers from the shop helped the preservation work get underway.

Council countryside officer Colin Pitts said: "By maintaining the scrub areas there will be many benefits to less common birds such as the yellowhammer, linnet and lesser whitethroat.

"Ponds will also be created to provide suitable aquatic habitat for plants and wildlife such as great crested newts."

Mice and snakes also find shelter in the long grass, then attracting birds of prey.

Mr Pitts explained that left to its own devices, the land would eventually be overrun with trees and lose the qualities which make it ideal for such wildlife.

Although the area is not legally protected, he hoped one day it would be.