FOUR sites in Hampshire threatened with destruction by giant gravel pits could be saved - to the relief of campaigners fighting the plans.

Protesters have been battling proposals by Hampshire County Council to extract millions more tonnes of sand and gravel.

Now the council is taking action to reduce the "needless anxiety" about the location of potential mineral extraction sites.

Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber said that up to four sites could be struck off the list of preferred areas because target amounts of sand and gravel for the south-east have been lowered.

The council has agreed a controversial list of 17 plots for new mineral extraction and landfill, with 14 earmarked as "preferred sites".

These include Hamble Airfield, several parts of the New Forest and Brownwich and Chilling in Warsash, many of which has sparked the creation of pressure groups opposed to any digging.

Groups include Damage, Downton and Milford Against Gravel Extraction, and CAMEL - the Campaign Against Mineral Extraction and Landfill in Warsash.

But the South East England Regional Assembly is now reviewing its regional targets, which could reduce the annual requirement for Hampshire from the current 2.63 million tonnes a year to - at worst - 2.4 million, and at best 1.9 million.

If this happens Cllr Thornber has vowed not to leave residents waiting anxiously when it becomes known which sites will not be needed, and will only outline sites that will definitely be needed.

Cllr Thornber said: "While it's important that we bring the Hampshire Minerals Plan to a speedy conclusion to avoid decisions being made through appeals decided by planning inspectors, I can't accept that we should create needless anxiety about sites that may not be needed.

"I calculate that the best-case target for Hampshire would mean that possibly four of the new sites currently being considered would not be needed.

"This should give us the scope to respond positively to what the public have told us in their responses to the draft plan."

At this stage there is no hint as to which sites could be dropped from the revised plan.