Sussex has suffered from plagues of flies, bees, ladybirds and even snails. Now, say experts, there's a new threat.

Now another beast is threatening the county - wild boar.

The rocketing population of wild boar could be a timebomb for the countryside.

The animals, although usually shy, can attack livestock but also root up pastures, damage crops and spread disease.

The Game Conservancy Trust said tough action was needed to control numbers.

Dr Stephen Tapper, director of policy and public affairs, said a Government report concluded there were 200 to 300 of the animals in Kent and Sussex in 1998.

He said: "We said then it was a big problem in the making because they breed very quickly. It is quite likely we will end up with a large population if nothing is done about it.

"The critters can breed most of the year and a sow can produce eight young at a time.

"In primitive conditions there are wolves and lynx to hunt them but that is not the case in the UK.

"The boar population is going to grow very fast. We could now be getting to the point where you could not eradicate them even if you wanted to."

But the problem is nowhere near as bad as in Germany where some 300,000 boar are hunted annually.

For each boar killed, hunters pay farmers about £165 in compensation for the damage the beasts cause.

Wild boar once roamed free in British forests but they were hunted into extinction in the early l7th Century.

However, the animal has been gradually reintroduced through selected controlled farms.

A few boars have escaped from either these farms or wildlife parks although it is impossible to pinpoint where they have gone. There are now growing wild boar populations in Kent and Dorset as well as East Sussex.

Unperturbed by the problem is Sussex Wildlife Trust director Elaine Hayes, who said: "I think it highly unlikely there will be a huge rise in numbers. They have been around in the area a long time and it has not happened.

"They are extremely shy and would run a mile if they heard someone coming.

"Sussex is a densely populated area of the country so it is hard for them to find places quiet enough to breed.

"The original native wild boar died out as a result of hunting and shooting. The ones now wild are escapees from farms because they are notoriously difficult to keep in.

"They tend to eat roots and acorns and can cause ground disturbance, although that is actually good in conservation areas."

In January last year, gamekeeper John Cook shot a 350lb boar at a farm at Hurst Green.

He said the animals caused a lot of damage and had been known to attack sheep, livestock and even people.

Later that year there were suspicions that snares set to trap wild boar in woods near Rye were set up by people riding quad bikes.