A York beauty spot which is littered with burnt-out cars now has a new lease of life as a nature reserve.

The so-called Clifton Backies, near Water Lane, is used regularly by dog walkers and local children, but the site has been blighted by car thieves torching and dumping cars there.

But today the land was handed over to the Clifton Backies Management Board by City of York Council. The board will look after the site now that a major conservation project there has been completed.

The 'greening-up' of the Backies was carried out by Fulford-based property developers Persimmon Homes, as part of a deal which allows the company to build homes on nearby land.

The board includes councillors and officers, Clifton residents and nature conservation experts. It will be responsible for the day-to-day upkeep of the reserve.

Clifton councillor Alan Jones, who chairs the Backies Management Board, said: "Clifton Backies has a great diversity of wildlife which the board would like people to enjoy."

The council is to remove the burnt-out cars in the near future.