Swathes of the South Downs have been covered in colourful wildflowers to provide vital habit for bees.

More than 66 hectares, or 163 football pitches, of lush wildflower habitat have been created in various locations across the national park to help the bees flourish.

Studies show wildflower planting projects like the South Downs’ Bee Line help the number of bees and butterflies to increase.

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Nick Heasman, a countryside policy manager for the South Downs National Park who has been helping to lead Bee Lines, said: “It’s blooming marvelous that thanks to all the donations from the public we’ve been able to create these new havens for pollinators.

“Bees are busy ecosystem engineers and by pollinating flowers they create food for other wildlife and, of course, humans. In fact, one out of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on pollinators such as bees.

“Bee Lines is just one strand of the National Park’s ReNature campaign and it’s incredibly exciting to see nature recovery in action.”