ONE of Hampshire's top politicians has accused government officials of rushing through plans to turn the New Forest into a national park.

New Forest East MP Julian Lewis has pleaded with the Countryside Agency to give people more time to have their say on the controversial proposal.

Comments must arrive by September 28, but Dr Lewis has asked for an extension to that deadline for people working flat out during the summer tourist season.

He made his appeal at Lyndhurst Community Centre during the first of a series of national park roadshows.

Dr Lewis told the Countryside Agency's senior countryside officer, Heather MacIlwaine: "A large percentage of the people in the New Forest are involved in the tourist industry and many of them will be working seven days a week over the next two-and-a-half months to get in half their annual income.

"There is too little time for them to go into the details and prepare their comments properly and I would suggest that the time limit for comments should be extended.

"I do not accept the need for this rush. The Labour party has been foisting this national park on the New Forest as a 50th birthday present since national parks were first set up.

"You would think that after waiting 50 years they could wait a few more weeks for the constitution to be done democratically."

Ms MacIlwaine pledged to pass on the request, but said that the timetable had been made public some time ago, with three months allowed on the draft park boundary and three months on the proposals.

Lyndhurst Parish Council chairman Mark Abbott added: "I think the time limit is short compared with the time they took to do the boundary. It's the biggest thing that has happened to the Forest for years and I don't think it should be rushed."

Meanwhile Internet surfers can log on to a new Countryside Agency website.

The site - www.countryside.gov.uk/proposednationalparks - will make it easier to check details of the planned national park and the times of consultation meetings. People can then e-mail their views on the scheme.