England’s vital hedges under threat from cuts to funding, farmers say

View of the South Downs over hedgerows and woodland in the Sussex countryside. Photograph: Johan Siebke/Alamy

Hedgerows in England are under threat, farmers and nature groups have warned, as the government prepares to cut funding that protects them.

Hedges are vital habitat for many species, providing food and shelter for mammals, birds and pollinators, with the EU paying farmers under its farming subsidy scheme to have them on their land.