PLANS to close four New Forest car parks to protect rare birds have been given the go-ahead, despite opposition from dog walkers.

The controversial scheme was approved yesterday at a meeting attended by representatives from 21 organisations across the Forest, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

They voted 19-2 in favour of closing the car parks between March and June each year.

The Forestry Commission plans to shut the facilities at Hincheslea Wood, near Brockenhurst, Crockford and Crockford Clump, near Lymington, and Clayhill, near Burley, to safeguard ground-nesting birds.

The closures had been opposed by the New Forest Dog Owners' Group, which claimed that the scheme would make large tracts of the Forest inaccessible.

Some of the delegates at yesterday's meeting also slated the proposals. They said that they were in favour of improving the birds' habitat but claimed that there was insufficient scientific data to prove that the plan would work.

Some of the speakers called for the scheme to be deferred until more facts were known. However, those in favour of the commission's proposals said all the evidence indicated that the closures should start in March as planned.

Ian Taylor, representing New Forest Mountain Bike Club, said: "The situation with the bird population is critical. We have to take pragmatic action now on the basis of data we already have."

RSPB member Drew McVey also supported the closures, saying steps should be taken to ensure that the Forest remained a safe haven for birds.