A "RARE and beautiful" habitat will be launched as a nature reserve next month - following a three-year campaign to transform it from a litter-strewn wasteland.

The 11-hectare Vicarage Farm Heath site, next to Whittall Drive in Birchen Coppice, Kidderminster, consists of pine woodland and lowland heath.

Since 1999 Wyre Forest District Council, which owns the land, has helped put in a successful bid for £40,000 of National Lottery money to clear up and restore the habitat.

Countryside officer Paul Allen said: "The land has had a history of abuse ranging from the shooting of wildlife and fly tipping to people driving and burning out motor vehicles on it.

"All of this had severely damaged the area's natural heritage."

Now the district council hopes its new status will encourage the community to recognise the site's importance for plants and wildlife.

"We're trying to raise the area's profile and stop vehicles from being abandoned on it.

"We want to turn it into a local nature reserve which people can enjoy and which can be preserved for future generations," Mr Allen said.

"It's very rare and very beautiful."

Vicarage Farm Heath is home to insects such as bee wolves - rare wasps that hunt bees.

New information signs have been erected along with fencing to deter joyriders and fly tipping, and scrub has been cleared to manage the heath land.

It is hoped nearby schools, including Birchen Coppice First and Middle, will use it as an educational resource.

Although this type of habitat is relatively common in Wyre Forest it is under threat nationally.

"It is being lost at a phenomenal rate - in a national perspective it's very rare and in decline. It is very valuable for wildlife," said Mr Allen.

The site adds to the Rifle Range and Burlish Top reserves in this part of the district. The opening ceremony takes place on December 4.