CLEAN sea breezes and tons of organic pony manure have helped produce the best fungi season for years in the New Forest.

Millions of mushrooms and toadstools are putting on a spectacular display right across Hampshire's world-famous woodland.

With some of the Forest's 2,600 varieties of fungi having popped up three weeks early, experts believe the weather has played a big part.

Forestry Commission ranger Sophie Dobell, pictured, explained that wet humid weather early in the year had primed the fungi to flourish.

But she stressed: "We will only keep this treasure house of variety and abundance so long as we maintain the balance of nature. Fungi hate airborne pollution and flourish here thanks to the undisturbed soil and clean sea air.

"The famous Forest ponies do their bit by producing tons of organic fertiliser. They live all year on a diet of natural vegetation."

The commission points out that it has a New Forest fungi code, which asks people to limit picking to their own use and warns that only experts should try. Even some of the innocent-looking varieties contain poison.

In medieval times, fungi were an important part of people's diets, with cep and chanterelle among the more popular varieties.