FRACKING could come to central Hampshire if national parks are protected by Government, a countryside campaigner warned.

Opponents of hydraulic gas drilling in the South Downs and New Forest should be careful what they wish for, said Edward Dawson, Hampshire trustee of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

In a presentation to The Dever Society rural group on Tuesday, Mr Dawson questioned how much existing fracking sites like Stockbridge and Horndean had affected locals.

But the CPRE's former South East director also raised fears about the controversial method, from noise and traffic to ongoing reliance on carbon-emitting energy sources.

"CPRE is very clear," he said, "they don't want national parks or AONBs [areas of natural beauty] affected.

"They're subject to special planning regulations anyway. But in Hampshire, if you exclude the New Forest, the South Downs and the North Wessex Downs AONB [from fracking], what do you have? Mid-Hampshire, where we are here - so be careful what we wish for."

The Dever Society, which campaigns against development threats to central Hampshire countryside, celebrated victory last year against plans to build a 12,500-home new town in Micheldever Station. It had battled the scheme since its formation almost 25 years ago.

But the annual general meeting heard details of looming appeals by investors which were refused permission to build wind turbines in Bullington Cross, west of Basingstoke, and a waste plant at Micheldever Station near Winchester. Keep Hampshire Green and Micheldever Action Group will fight the plans at hearings in October and December respectively.

The result of May's General Election could throw these issues "up in the air", said chairman Douglas Paterson.