IT seems a wonderful dream.

The suggestion that ugly electricity pylons that march across the New Forest National Park can be removed is a wish come true for residents and visitors alike.

A dreadful necessity up to now, the huge structures carrying power across the area of otherwise outstanding beauty are a blot that we had come to accept.

Now, as we report today (page 17), a pilot study will look into the feasibility of the power lines being taken underground. The multi-million-pound scheme, if agreed, would take away the need for the massive pylons.

Yet there are warnings that the creation of the trenches into which the power lines would have to go could have a worse effect on the environment than the existing structures.

But we must live in hope that we are at the beginning of a project that will return the New Forest to its former natural glory.