OFFENDERS have been praised for their hard work in clearing thick scrub and bramble from barrows to be excavated next on Petersfield Heath.

The Community Payback team, under the supervision of Friends of the Heath, “beat a path through the jungle”, according to a report on the digs.

This work has been crucial in allowing archaeologists to get a clearer picture of the two barrows, or burial mounds, to be investigated in the spring.

But the clearing of the undergrowth since the People of the Heath project began last year, directed by Petersfield Museum, has not pleased everyone.

Tree Council warden Robin Hart, of Petersfield, said:?“The work is detrimental to the biodiversity of the landscape of the Heath and it is of great concern.”

Many sorbus trees had been lost, for example. These bore red berries which provided vital food for endangered birds such as red wing and field fare. Brambles, being torn out, were fantastic habitats for hibernating Brimstone butterflies.

Robin has put a blue protection tree tag on a scarce Swedish Whitebeam on one of the mounds.

A spokesman for Petersfield Town Council said the authority fully supported the excavation work of the museum.