National parks 'should be created in areas around the UK coast'

The Severn Estuary is one of the areas identified that could be made into a national park

National parks should be created in areas around the UK coast to help protect marine habitats and bring people closer to more of Britain's natural history.

That's according to the conservation group Blue Marine Foundation, which has named 10 coastal areas that it said could be made into national parks within the next 10 years.

Charles Clover, the charity's executive director, said: "It is remarkable that we have no parks in the sea, after 70 years of national parks on land."

"Our natural heritage is right there, just off the beach, but paradoxically the public is hardly involved in the enjoyment or the stewardship of this island nation's greatest asset."

The Lake District - England's largest National Park - attracts lots of visitors every year and is home to high fells, deep glacial lakes and thriving rural communities

The first national park on land was created in the Peak District in 1951.

The parks were created in the post-war period to protect open spaces and support the nation's mental and physical health and well-being.

Today, Britain has 15 National Parks: ten in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland.

Eight have coastline but none include the sea. Pembrokeshire Coastal National Park in Wales is the only one based on the national value of the seascape.

Birds fly over Powfoot Bay in the Solway Firth in south-west Scotland

England's 10 National Parks contribute as much as £4 billion to the economy with 90 million visitors each year and 22,500 businesses employing 140,000 people.

Three National Parks in Wales get an estimated 12 million visitors per year and add over £0.5 billion pounds to the Welsh economy.

Mr. Clover said creating national parks at sea would bring similar benefits.

Blue Marine Foundation estimated that starter funding of about £200,000 to £500,000 would be enough to get a national marine park started in the areas it has identified. But after this the marine parks could pay for themselves through attracting visitors.

A spokeperson from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told Newsround: "Our seas provide great economic opportunities for our world leading marine sector but they also need our protection.

"We are already leading the rest of the world by protecting over 30% of our waters around the UK and our overseas territories. We've also created dozens of Marine Protected Areas, expanding the national 'Blue Belt' so that it protects more than 40% of English waters."