An award-winning photographer is set to publish a new book that focuses on life in the New Forest.

Steve Poole is a former Fleet Street snapper whose subjects have included Kate Moss, Sir David Attenborough, and Dame Helen Mirren. His work has also been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery.

Now he has produced Uncommoners, a unique collection of images that capture the essence of the New Forest National Park.

The title is based on the term "commoners", which refers to villagers with the right to let their ponies, cattle, and donkeys roam the landscape.

Other people who feature in the 304-page portrait of the Forest include film critic Mark Kermode and Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, whose late father founded the National Motor Museum.

TV wildlife expert Chris Packham, who lives near Marchwood, has written the foreword.

He says: "The New Forest is a hell of a place . . . one part hell, nine parts the best of heaven we have left. Steve’s photos are mostly of its angels and they are beautiful."

Steve lives in Lymington and is staging an exhibition at the town's St Barbe Museum and Gallery in Lymington from May 18, when 70 framed images will be on display.