Lord Montagu’s son warns of cuts

The Hon Ralph Montagu, son of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, raised the prospect of policing and other public services being cut as part of the Government’s attempt to tackle Britain’s record deficit.

He cited the success of the Police Countrywatch scheme, which is helping to reduce poaching and other types of rural crime in the New Forest.

As reported in the Daily Echo, police are stepping up patrols in a bid to prevent poachers targeting the area in the run-up to Christmas.

Speaking at the annual Beaulieu Estate dinner, Mr Montagu praised Sergeant Louise Hubble and fellow Countrywatch officers.

He said: “Sergeant Hubble and her team have worked hard to win the trust of the rural community, and people now take the trouble to report incidents when they previously tended not to bother.

“Rural crime such as poaching, fly-tipping and theft is a serious problem. Now that the confidence of the local community in the police has been raised we hope that the necessary levels of personnel in rural areas can be retained.”

Mr Montagu also spoke about the potential threat to services supplied by other organisations, including councils and the New Forest National Park Authority.

He said: “All will feel the effects of reduced funding from central Government and this will inevitably flow through to all of us, but just how we have yet to discover.”

The 7,000-acre Beaulieu Estate includes the National Motor Museum, one of Hampshire’s top tourist attractions.

Mr Montagu added: “In these economically difficult times it is good to be able to report that our visitor businesses at Beaulieu and Buckler’s Hard have held on to the increased visitor numbers of last year. It may not be so easy next season.”

The guest speaker at the dinner was Dr Julian Lewis, Tory MP for New Forest East, who referred to the Coalition Government as a “collision of ideas”.

"Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth, take a deep breath and swallow a compromise," he said.