Picking wild mushrooms has been banned in parts of the New Forest in a crackdown on ‘gangs’ stripping the ancient woodland of fungi.

The National Trust said it will no longer allow foragers to pick mushrooms in five areas of the northern commons after declaring it ‘impossible’ to police the amounts taken.

And it warned that anyone repeatedly caught breaking the rules could be prosecuted for theft.

The National Trust said it will no longer allow foragers to pick mushrooms in five areas of the New Forest National Park, pictured

Currently it is legal to take 1.5kg of mushrooms per person per day from the New Forest National Park – provided it is for personal use.

But fears have been raised that the woodland’s fungi – which includes ceps, chanterelles and oyster varieties – is being decimated by commercial pickers said to be clearing out vast swathes then selling them for a huge profit.

The only person allowed to pick mushrooms to sell on is Brigitte Tee Hillman who in 2006 won a four-year court battle with the Forestry Commission, the Government authority that manages the 220 square mile New Forest, for the right to do so.

The National Trust is now urging foragers not to pick mushrooms on the Northern Commons, five areas of woodland, heathland, mire and grassland, that cover around 1,600 hectares - around four per cent of the total size of the New Forest.

The new restrictions affect Hale Purlieu near Fordingbridge, Ibsley Common, Rockford Common and Hightown Common near Ringwood and Foxbury and Bramshaw Common near Totton.

Fears have been raised that the woodland’s fungi is being decimated by commercial pickers said to be clearing out vast swathes of land

The move has been welcomed by campaigners who say the New Forest’s mushrooms should be protected from over-picking

They are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest and are said to be popular places to pick highly-prized wild mushrooms including ceps, chanterelles, pied-de-mouton and oyster varieties.

The move has been welcomed by campaigners who say the New Forest’s mushrooms should be protected from over-picking.

However top foragers such as John Wright, right hand man of TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, have hit out at the appeal, questioning its effectiveness.

A spokesman for the National Trust said: “We support the use of out properties for foraging for abundant species of wild food for personal use, as an inspiring way to help reconnect people with the coast, countryside and nature.

“But here in the New Forest we have found it impossible to police or manage fungi picking sustainably whilst still championing the current 1.5kg personal picking limit - a limit introduced years before the huge upsurge in picking.

However top foragers such as John Wright, right hand man of TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, have hit out at the picking ban, questioning its effectiveness

“We cannot condone commercial and perhaps widespread non-commercial collecting of fungi on legally protected wildlife sites of importance for fungi.

“The scale of collecting on the New Forest Northern Commons is now so great that to do nothing is not an option for us.

“New guidelines asking people to refrain from picking fungi on the Northern Commons have been introduced to protect and conserve their unique ecology.

“We will try persuasion wherever possible but it also has the backing of a highly competent legal team and some significant legislation, notably the Theft Act 1968.

“If a member of the public continues to flagrantly ignore the request not to pick fungi on New Forest SSSIs, the we may consider taking legal action, as it could be an offence to forage without the landowner’s permission.

“However, this would be very much a last resort, and only if direct appeals by the Trust to stop picking are consistently ignored.”

The question of whether mushroom picking is damaging is a contentious one - campaigners claim it leads to dwindling numbers of fungi yet scientific studies have shown it has no effect on future harvests.

Among those welcoming the partial ban is Sara Cadbury, a New Forest-based mushroom expert who has called for mushroom picking to be outlawed entirely.

Mrs Cadbury, a farmer from Brockenhurst, Hants, and a member of the British Mycological Society, has previously levelled blame on TV chefs and celebrity foragers for encouraging people to pick mushrooms.

She said: “The National Trust is to be commended for taking a firm stand and the authorities responsible in the rest of the New Forest should follow their example.

“The New Forest deserves complete protection - it is a place for all to enjoy and appreciate and not to be spoiled by a selfish few.

“Fungi should be appreciated for their visual beauty and for their important role in the environment and fragile ecosystem and not for gastronomic pleasure, especially when they can be easily bought from a shop.

“Appreciation and learning about fungi can be done without picking and eating.”

However River Cottage regular Mr Wright, who runs his own foraging forays in the New Forest, accused the National Trust of giving its decision “little thought”.

He said: “From a quick look, these commons appear to be mostly heathland with relatively few trees and little grassland where edible fungi might grow, thus I am not quite sure who or what the National Trust is worried about.