A wildlife trust will turn farmland into a haven for nature after supporters donated more than £250,000 to fund the purchase.

The 26-acre site in Polhill, Sevenoaks has been bought by Kent Wildlife Trust after an appeal to the public to raise £195,000.

The charity had until Saturday, June 1 to get together the money but the target has been smashed.

The site, which is the size of 19 standard 11-a-side football pitches, had been previously managed as a commercial farm.

It will now become a biodiverse chalk downland – a rare habitat which supports a wide variety of plants and animals and requires careful management.

The conservation group says it has years of experience in restoring these chalk grasslands and hopes to transform the site into a haven for nature, with ponds, meadows, and wildflowers.

It added the land will give the wildlife at nearby Polhill Bank Nature Reserve, purchased after another successful appeal in 2019, more space.

The “thriving” 40-acre ecosystem – 30 standard 11-a-side football pitches – has become a home to insects that are drawn to orchids and wildflowers, while the yellowhammer bird is attracted to these insects, and common lizards have found refuge in the wildlife ponds.

“Thank you for being part of nature’s recovery in Sevenoaks...

Some £251,000 was raised in total, with one donator putting £84,000 into the pot.

The money raised will pay entirely for the purchase and the initial set up and management to restore the land.

The funds will also pay for sowing seeds, livestock management, tree safety and ash die-back mitigation.

It is hoped that surveys and studies will be carried out to help other organisations learn from the restoration efforts.

Kent Wildlife Trust’s director of conservation, Paul Hadaway, thanked the backers.

He said: “This is a hugely positive and exciting story at a time when nature faces so many challenges. I would like to thank all of our supporters who helped us reach our Polhill target.

“This is an opportunity for us to buy an area of arable land that we can revert into wonderful chalk grassland habitat that neighbours our existing nature reserve. Thank you for being part of nature’s recovery in Sevenoaks.”

Kent Wildlife Trust is the county’s leading conservation charity with more than 31,000 members and over 1000 registered volunteers.

It manages and protects more than 9000 acres of land across more than 90 different sites and nature reserves, alongside three visitor centres.