Funding for the Mendip Hills could be under threat as a spending review looks to slash Defra’s budget.

The future of a beloved beauty spot is hanging in the balance in the face of planned government budget cuts.

Somerset is home to three national landscapes - the Blackdown Hills, the Quantock Hills and the Mendip Hills - which could see funding cuts in a review of the budget for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

Manager of the Mendip Hills National Landscape team, Jim Hardcastle, said this would make it much harder to carry out vital conservation work and to meet the government’s own target for environmental improvement.