PUNK rock and the peace of the British countryside may not appear the likeliest of bedfellows.

But Hampshire wildlife presenter Chris Packham has brought them together.

He managed to drop 70 song titles by legendary punk band The Clash into this year’s series of Springwatch.

The Southampton-born naturalist has a history of dropping titles from his favourite artists into the BBC show, previously song-checking David Bowie, The Cure and Madness.

The University of Southampton zoology graduate explained that The Clash had a place in his heart since picking up their album in Woolworths in the late 1970s, and then seeing them play in Southampton just four days later.

He said: “Buying the first album in Woolworths had been a life changer and after the sweat dried I bought a ticket for the Southampton gig four days later.

“And I kept going to as many of their shows as I could and I never saw a bad one.

“To have seen them, been crushed, pushed, punched and pogo-ed in the riotous frenzy was a privilege I’ll cherish forever.”

The 52-year-old said his decision to try to mention as many Clash songs as possible was prompted by a spell of wet weather at the Springwatch base, the Ynys-Hir nature reserve in Wales, which made him ponder Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Over the course of filming he dropped in song titles from across their sixalbum, ten-year career including Hitsville UK, Death or Glory, The Magnificent Seven and London Calling.

Chris added: “Viewers had also heard Cheat, 1977 and Do it Now but I must confess these were unintentional.

So 70, 8.75 per programme, one every 10.285 minutes, a great band and the best I could do spontaneously while rattling on about wildlife.”