A PURBECK charity has teamed up with the Forestry Commission to introduce a previously extinct butterfly back to the English countryside.

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation, based in Lulworth, has released Chequered Skipper butterflies at a secret location in Rockingham Forest, Northamtonshire.

The Chequered Skipper, although always scarce, became extinct in England in 1976 as a result of habitat loss due to changes in woodland management.

In England the butterfly was historically found in a band of woodlands and limestone grassland from Oxfordshire to Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.

Although the Chequered Skipper is found in parts of Scotland, conservationists always hoped to reintroduce it to England if suitable habitat conditions could be recreated.

Butterfly Conservation director of science Dr Nigel Bourn said: "This is an important milestone for conservation in the UK.

"It is a privilege to help return this charismatic little butterfly to its former stronghold of Rockingham Forest.

"It has taken many years and a lot of hard work from many people to get to this point and I am very proud to be part of the team collecting these beautiful butterflies and returning them to England at last."

The Back from the Brink project, made possible thanks to the National Lottery and People’s Postcode Lottery, aims to save 20 species from extinction and benefit over 200 more through 19 projects that span England.

Butterfly Conservation chief executive Julie Williams said: "Butterfly Conservation has been planning this reintroduction project for many years and I am delighted that by working collaboratively with our Back from the Brink partners, we have realised our ambition.

"We are so grateful to the players of the National Lottery and the Heritage Lottery Fund for their funding and support."