Works to restore Burnham Beeches and Stoke Common after "severe damage" was caused to the green spaces during the Covid lockdown are now underway after area were completely trampled by visitors.

Whilst the green gems provided a lifeline to many during the pandemic, the huge increase of visitors left the nature reserves heavily damaged - with widened paths, erosion, trampled grass, soil compaction and disturbed habitats.

The wet weather over winter heightened the problems and worsened the damage.

As guardians of Burnham Beeches and Stoke Common, the City of London Corporation say they are going "above and beyond" to protect the open space for future generations.

It has now commenced the first phase of ground restoration work, with results already in place.

This has included temporary closures to some areas to allow the natural vegetation to recover and some desire lines have also been closed using cut branches from management work.

Resurfacing work has been carried out in some areas to encourage walkers to stick to the paths and not to stray.

Where required, temporary signage has been installed to indicate to users where the paths are.

Chair of the City of London Corporation’s City Commons Committee, Graeme Doshi-Smith, said: “It was very positive to see so many people using their local park or green spaces whilst socialising indoors was not permitted.

"However, this brought a series of challenges for Burnham Beeches and Stoke Common, and resulted in some significant damage.

“The good news is that work has already begun to ensure the landscape will recover, but it may take some time and will require carefully planned interventions.

“Visitor numbers are much lower than the previous months during lockdown, which will help with the restoration work.

“These proactive efforts have meant that we can already see positive changes. We all need to work together to preserve these green spaces and that’s what we will do as guardians of the Commons.”