The wreck of a Second World War minesweeper should be given strict protection as a wildlife haven, campaigners urged today.
HMS Northcoates, which lies off Bognor, is among 34 marine sites which deserve special status, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The call for action comes on the eve of the second reading of a Private Member's Bill in the Commons by Uxbridge Tory MP John Randall.
He will urge MPs to back the Marine Wildlife Conservation Bill tomorrow, which, if it became law, would safeguard these important sites.
Other sites identified in the RSPB's report include the Seven Sisters, between Eastbourne and Seaford.
Mr Randall said: "The coastal waters surrounding England and Wales are among the most wildlife-rich in Europe, supporting a miraculous web of life from microscopic plankton to the largest whales.
"However, protection for the marine environment remains incredibly weak, compared with that on land.
"My Bill, if it becomes law, will create a new designation to protect and manage nationally-important marine wildlife sites."
The wreck, which lies off the West Sussex coast, is home to species including Devonshire cup corals and jewel anemones.
The site is doubly important because these species occur at the eastern limit of their known distributions.
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