Nature lovers see red over poppies

A delayed spring combined with sunshine has meant fields across the country are bursting into colourful displays of one of Britain's best-loved wild flowers - the poppy.

But the glorious scene at one Midlands nature reserve has proved too tempting for passers-by who are unable to resist hopping over the fence and walking through the flowers.

Swarms of visitors to Blackstone Nature Reserve, next to the A456 in Bewdley, have been ignoring signs asking them not to venture far into the field, with some even taking pushchairs through the sea of red and green.

An army of staff and volunteers has now been recruited to stop people trampling over the fields, ruining the poppies and disturbing nesting skylarks.

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust spokeswoman Wendy Carter said the field had burst into bloom a few weeks ago thanks to a delayed spring and the warm weather.

"We had left the field fallow this year which is why the poppies sprang up," she said.

"It's gorgeous and we can see why people want to take pictures, but they are accidentally kicking up the ground-nesting skylarks' nests as well as treading on poppies.

"It's such a shame as it ruins the view as well as disrupting the wildlife. We hadn't even realised the birds were there until recently so that was a nice surprise."

Volunteers and trust staff are now patrolling the field to try and prevent people hopping over the fence and spoiling the beautiful, red-dotted landscape.

She said the trust was in the middle of a long-term project to turn the field back into heathland and extend the Devil's Spittleful next door. "Worcestershire has lost 90 per cent of its heathland over the past 200 years, so we are working to restore some it."

Legend has it that the Devil's Spittleful - which means "the devil's giant spade of soil" - was created when Satan tried to drown the pious people of Bewdley by diverting the River Severn to cover the town.

However, just as he had filled his spade, a man with a sack full of shoes passed by. When the Devil asked how far Bewdley was, the man replied: "Why, I have worn out this sack full of shoes getting to here", and the devil had gave up his task because of the distance he had to cover and threw down his spade, leaving it there."

Now, the head of sandstone rock is home to lizards, 20 species of butterfly, 160 species of moth, a nationally rare bee called Adrena Nigrostina and several kinds of birds, including redstarts, skylarks and cuckoos.