MALVERN Hills Trust has successfully secured a £71,000 grant from the Forestry Commission to improve habitats on the hills.

The work is intended to control non-native plants, including laurel, have come to dominate wooded areas on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills.

Laurel, a hardy, evergreen plant, native to the Mediterranean, was popular with Victorian households for its shiny leaves, but the plant spread out of gardens and into the Malvern Hills landscape.

Laurel's ability to grow in shady places such as woodlands has resulted in a decrease the amount of light reaching the woodland floor.

This, coupled with the invasion of space, means that native flora such as hazel and bluebells have been pushed out and lost.

Work has already begun over the winter to improve the diversity of the woodlands through the removal of non-native species.

By clearing the laurel and other non-native species, the work aims to allow more light into the woodland, increase the amount of dead-wood habitat and allow the natural regeneration of native flora.

A spokesman said: "Diverse woodland habitats support a wide range of species including birds and rare bats and managing the woods will provide a home for more of much-loved creatures.

"Visitors will also benefit by experiencing woodlands filled with light, colour and sound of native wildlife."