The Drews Pond Wood Group, which turned neglected woodland on the grounds of the former Round- way Hospital into Devizes’ first nature reserve, is in a race to save land next to it from housing development.

The group has the chance to buy the former cricket ground and orchard, but has to find £20,000 to prevent it from being snapped up by housing developers.

Stuart Hislop, who founded the group in 1990 with his wife Lorna Llewellyn, told the meeting of Devizes Area Board on Monday: “This is a unique opportunity to add the cricket field and an orchard to the nature reserve.

“Other people are interested in this land for speculative development, so we will have to act quickly.”

The meeting was in favour of the project and it was agreed to set aside £5,000 towards buying the land.