Plans to bolster protection for rare species and habitats in England were announced today by the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

Eighty-one new Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) are being proposed to ensure long-term protection of species and sites in some of the country's finest natural areas.

Planned new SACs, covering around 300,000 hectares, include Sussex sites at Ashdown Forest, noted for its dry heaths, Duncton to Bignor Escarpment for the beech forests and Hastings Cliffs to Pett Beach for the vegetated sea cliffs.

Mr Prescott said: "This is part of the UK's contribution to the European Union's extensive network of important nature conservation sites, known as Natura 2000, all of which are prized for their rare and threatened habitat types and wildlife species."

Mr Prescott also launched new draft guidelines for English Nature and public bodies on protecting, managing and conserving England's 4,000 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) which cover nearly seven per cent of England's total area.

The draft guidelines reflect new measures in the Countryside and Rights of Way Bill which will improve protection for SSSIs.

The Bill is due to be debated at committee stage in the Lords next month.

Chairman of English Nature Baroness Young of Old Scone said: "This is great news for our most important wildlife sites.

"England now has over 900,000 hectares of protection for internationally-threatened plants and animals, like the western rustwort and lesser horseshoe bat, and fragile habitats, like sand dunes, stretching from Northumberland to Cornwall."

However, concern was raised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds that they could create a "false sense of security".

Dr Mark Avery, conservation director, said more than half of all England's SSSIs had been damaged by fire or off-road vehicles despite their protected status and many more were suffering from neglect.