ONE of Britain's biggest landowners has bought another 180 hectares of the New Forest National Park to help preserve the area for future generations.

The National Trust has bought the 150-hectare Foxbury Plantation near Bramshaw and an area of lowland heath at Hale Purlieu, near Woodgreen.

It means the amount of trust-owned land in the Forest has jumped from 1,500 hectares to 1,680 hectares - an increase of more than ten per cent.

Patrick Begg, the organisation's regional director, said: "The New Forest is a very special place with its own unique wildlife, history and landscape. These two new acquisitions will secure important corners of the national park for everyone, helping to attract visitors while ensuring we protect and enhance the landscape and environment."

Tony Burton, the trust's director of policy and strategy, said: "In an increasingly crowded and pressured world, national parks are needed now more than ever.

"The trust's prospectus for the Forest, backed by two important land acquisitions, demonstrates our commitment to its future and our desire to work with others in tackling the challenges ahead."

The New Forest National Park Authority welcomed the land acquisitions.

Chief executive Lindsay Cornish said: "There's a strong emphasis in our corporate plan on partnership working, which fits very well with the trust's vision for the New Forest.

"We see the trust as one of our key partners."

The trust, which owns land in all the national parks in England and Wales, started buying land in the New Forest in 1927.