Dredged mud from a harbour on the south coast is being used to restore surrounding saltmarsh, in an innovative scheme to protect the local economy and wildlife.

The team behind the scheme to restore the eroding saltmarsh that protects Lymington Harbour, Hampshire, hope the “remarkable” recovery of natural habitat could be replicated around the country to conserve coastal areas at risk from rising sea levels.

Lymington has a ferry link to the Isle of Wight, 1,600 leisure moorings and sees 20,000 visiting yachts a year, with the harbour worth tens of millions of pounds a year to the local economy.