WORLD-RENOWNED wildlife campaigner David Bellamy came to Hampshire to throw his support behind efforts to force a park-and-ride scheme away from meadows at Winchester yesterday.

He was told that campaigners have called for a police investigation into the way Hampshire County Council managed to obtain planning permission for the project on part of the old Winchester Bypass route at Bar End.

"We have approached the police and asked them to look into this matter. They are bringing in some of their best people," Winchester Meadows Conservation Alliance chairman Keith Storey told a rally attended by more than 100 people at the Bar End site.

He and his fellow campaigners have asked the police to investigate whether the county misinformed the public inquiry over the ecological and amenity value of the site.

"We are also contending that they misled the inquiry inspector concerning the traffic benefits of putting a park-and-ride scheme here," said Mr Storey.

They are also questioning the awarding of government money and the quality of an alternative "flower meadow'' at Magdalen Hill, near Winchester, being offered as compensation for the loss of the Bar End land.

"They plan to establish only 30 species at Magdalen Hill and there are 240 species here," he said.

Mr Bellamy began his message to the rally by reciting "One man went to mow, went to mow a meadow...." and added: "You are here to make sure that this meadow will stay here to be mowed."

Recalling that he "grew up with in the Swallows and Amazons days when I could drink out of all the streams and make tea from the water in Windermere," he gave his support to the call for legal action.

"At least they have put down a marker that something nasty is going on and I do feel this scheme should be stopped. Thank God we have still got our judiciary and we have still got laws, both ancient and modern. But why do we have to have this park-and-ride - and why Winchester? It is not some new town that has just been built. It is an ancient town," he said.

The rally gave its full support to the sending of a message to the Mayor of Winchester, expressing "dismay and concern at the development of the land restored to countryside in compensation for the loss of land at Twyford Down."