HRH Prince William has launched a new campaign designed to protect 2,012 playing fields across the UK as part of efforts to mark Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The Prince has also been named as a patron of the project, which is led by charity Fields in Trust (FiT) and aims to provide permanent protection for areas of outdoor space to be used by local communities. Protected fields in England will be named The Queen Elizabeth II Fields and The Queen Elizabeth Fields in Scotland as part of the scheme, one of the largest UK programmes to preserve outdoor recreational space.

According to a report published last month, 6,000 playing fields have been lost since 1992. Local authorities are now being encouraged to nominate areas for protection, which will then be put to a public vote. Prince William said: "The sad truth is that, over the years, thousands of playing fields have been lost to development, and many more are under threat today.

"For more than 80 years, the Fields in Trust charity has been working hard to combat this threat by protecting playing fields across the UK from development. There has never been greater need for their work." FiT chief executive Alison Moore Gwyn added: ""The 1,271 playing fields that we currently protect across the UK are often the green heart of the local area. Through The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge we want to bring this same benefit to even more communities."