An award-winning charity that helps thousands of children escape their inner city lives and sample the joys of the countryside is under threat.

Hampshire County Council is poised to stop funding the Beaulieu-based Countryside Education Trust (CET) in a move that could spark job losses and budget cuts.

Lady Montagu of Beaulieu, one of the trustees, described the potential loss of grant as a bombshell that was set to cause her sleepless nights.

Each year the CET welcomes a huge number of children from schools in Southampton and other urban communities, including disadvantaged youngsters and those with special educational needs.

Facilities include the popular Out of Town Centre in Palace Lane, Beaulieu, and the Treehouse Study Centre in nearby Hartford Wood.

Visitors are provided with a wide range of hands-on activities, including craftwork and bread-making. They are also able to feed farm animals and collect eggs laid by chickens and geese.

But the county council has already cut the CET’s annual grant from £47,000 to £39,000 and is likely to impose another major reduction next year.

And the cash-strapped authority will stop funding the trust altogether from March 2015 if the cost-cutting plan is approved next week.

The trust, which employs 17 people, has won one of the Green Apple awards presented to organisations that enhance the environment.

Director David Bridges said: “Most of our income comes from the facilities we provide but the county council money is our biggest single grant.

“If that goes we’ll probably have to look at laying off staff and curtailing services. We couldn’t afford to do anything that didn’t provide us with revenue, including outreach visits to schools. It’s important that children understand how the countryside works and where their food comes from.”

The county council has to find a further £90m of savings by 2015.

The authority has lost 43 per cent of its Government grant over four years.

Savings of £130m have already been achieved but civic chiefs say they could be forced to slash 1,800 more jobs.