THEY drove over the nests of helpless birds and tore a swathe through one of Winchester’s nature reserves.

Volunteers and conservation officers are now trying to clear the damage at Magdalen Hill Down off Alresford Road.

Intruders with a 4x4 and trailer entered the reserve sometime last Wednesday night (April 11).

They left tyre tracks all over the site and smashed through several electric fences.

The fences were installed to keep dogs away from skylarks, who build their nests on the ground, and whose numbers in Britain are falling fast.

Several nests were destroyed in the vehicle’s wake, along with a large number of cowslip flowers.

The 110-acre site is maintained by the charity, Butterfly Conservation.

Its reserves officer at Magdalen Hill Down, Jayne Chapman, said: “They’ve left dirty great wheel tracks everywhere.

“This is an important time of year for the butterflies, which are just emerging and hopefully this won’t have affected them too much.”

The charity holds regular walks at the reserve. Its next event involves showing off the cowslips, but some have now been flattened.

Magdalen Hill Down was set aside for nature after a smaller site at Bar End was controversially sacrificed to expand the city’s first park and ride site.

The charity has alerted police, who are investigating the damage and what the 4x4 was doing at the site.

Anyone with information is urged to call PCSO Melissa Rowell at Petersfield police station on 0845 045 4545.