Goats chew their part for the environment

A herd of goats has been released into a nature reserve to encourage exotic plants and insects.

Mungo, Midge, Elvis, Flora and Fauna will graze in 30 hectares of chalkland in New Addington, near Croydon, to keep overgrown vegetation trimmed.

Experts hope this will encourage biodiversity at Hutchinson's Bank reserve by allowing low-growing flowers and plants to sprout.

The reserve, which belongs to the London Wildlife Trust, has three types of orchid, rare plants such as kidney vetch grass and great yellow wildflowers, more than 100 species of moth and 28 butterflies. Ian Rappel, trust conservation land officer, said: "This is a really exciting project, an attempt to replicate past forms of agriculture. Goats particularly like scrub and by eating it they open up more ground for wild flowers to take root and provide more habitat for butterflies."

The animals are on loan from the Old Surrey Downs Project, which has been given £40,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the scheme, including fencing.

Chalkland is one of Britain's most endangered habitats and is similar to rainforests in terms of rarity and biodiversity.