A CONSERVATION expert is saddling up in an eco-friendly attempt to look after 4,000 acres of National Trust land in the New Forest. Project officer Doug England, pictured, is swapping his truck for another form of horsepower – a seven-year-old chestnut mare called Bee.

Doug and his colleagues monitor the health of National Trust land, including commons in the Bramshaw, Copythorne and Ringwood areas. He said: “Some of the terrain is hard to reach, so it makes sense to do the work on horseback.”