A conservation group fears its plans to buy a woodland which belonged to murdered landlord Mohammed Raja will fail for a second time.

The Sussex Wildlife Trust won lottery backing to help secure the 2.4 acres of woodland and turn it into a nature reserve.

But it has been told it will still need around £40,000, double what it has raised.

Mr Raja outbid the trust when it first tried to buy the wood at Eldred Avenue, Withdean, Brighton, ten years ago.

He paid £6,500 for the land, formerly owned by British Rail.

He was a director of the company which owned the wood, Turkmoor Ltd, when he was killed in 1999.

The firm went in receivership in March and the land is being sold.

Trust director Elaine Hayes said she hoped a higher bid could be put together but was not optimistic.

She said: "The problem is any piece of land that is in an urban area is seen as having potential for development.

"It is the last piece in the jigsaw for Withdean local nature reserve, linking up with Withdean woods and providing a green corridor into Brighton."

Brighton and Hove City Council tried to help the trust raise part of the extra money but the total is likely to be out of reach.

The land is designated as a nature reserve in a new council planning blueprint. A buyer would find it difficult to build there if the document is approved.

Environment councillor Heather James said: "It is a shame people who have worked so hard to protect it could not afford to buy it."

Mr Raja was among Brighton and Hove's biggest and most notorious landlords when he was killed.

Fellow property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten was found guilty of his manslaughter at the Old Bailey last month. Hoogstraten's associates David Croke and Robert Knapp were found guilty of murder.