THE government's wildlife adviser, Natural England, has approved an unrivalled network of 17 flower-rich meadows in a Herefordshire valley with two unspoiled ancient orchards as the latest Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to give rare and vulnerable wildlife legal protection.

The Bury Farm SSSI, near Leominster, is among the top sites of its kind in the country for its meadows, which have acted as a reservoir for plants and insects to survive and thrive.

The family-owned farm is an incredibly exciting find for conservationists as it is almost unique in England in an age where virtually all grasslands have been treated with fertilisers and chemicals affecting the natural mix of plants and wildflowers.

The site was notified in August 2006 and it is largely thanks to the stewardship of a single family that it has remained in such a pristine state. In April, the board of Natural England considered the advice of officers and the views of those objecting to the notification and concluded the site should be confirmed without modification.

Natural England chief executive Helen Phillips said: "The science of this site is so amazingly exceptional that we owe a debt of gratitude to the remarkable owners for their wonderful stewardship and want to support them and work together for the benefit of our natural heritage and the incredible range of biodiversity at the site."