Ancient woodland to join reserve

Southwick wood will be linked to nearby Short wood

An ancient woodland in Northamptonshire is to become a nature reserve in a move aimed at preserving rare wildlife.

Bluebells, Wild Service trees and woodcock are all found in Southwick Wood, near Oundle, which the Wildlife Trust has purchased.

An area of land has also been bought to link Southwick to nearby Short Wood.

The trust said it aims to create a "living landscape", bringing nature closer to homes in the Rockingham Forest area of the county.

Paul Evans, senior reserves officer for the Wildlife Trust, said: "This is a really important step on securing the future of wildlife in Southwick Wood and the surrounding Rockingham Forest.

"This marks the start of a long process to fulfil our vision of linking up our nature reserves in the area, which aims to break the cycle of habitats and species becoming isolated in a landscape, and enables them to survive over a larger area and adapt to changing conditions."