Judge Michael Kennedy QC is one of a growing number of people getting back to nature and keeping alive the art of hedgelaying.

Twenty years ago, barbed wire fences were taking over the countryside and traditional hedges were being ripped out or falling by the wayside.

However, in the last few years, the popularity of the National Hedgelaying Society has grown steadily with scores of people learning the basics as a hobby.

South of England chairman Ron Mouland said there were now 228 members locally, including everyone from farm labourers to Judge Kennedy, with Prince Charles also counted among the fans.

Judge Kennedy, from Iford, near Lewes, said: "It is the one of only two things listed in my Who's Who entry - music and hedgelaying.

"We moved to the village in 1988 and at the time, Ron's father Fred was looking for some younger chaps to take an interest.

"We went out for a few years on training days and I entered a few competitions. I think I have probably laid 15 or 20 lengths around the county.

"Fred paid me the only working compliment I shall die happy with. He said: 'Michael you could make a living out of this - if you would get your finger out'."

Judge Kennedy said work commitments meant he had not been able to devote much time to hedgelaying for two years but intended to spend more after his retirement next January.

Mr Mouland, 67, said: "Through the society, we run four training days a year. This last five years, we have had all sorts of people coming along.

"Before, they tended to be farm workers but now we get people from all walks of life - many are retired office workers who want to come out and enjoy the countryside."

Mr Mouland has even taken part in hedgelaying at Highgrove, Prince Charles' Gloucestershire estate, where he met the prince.

Bruce Maley, from Vines Cross, near Heathfield, works as an insurance broker but is also secretary of the National Hedgelaying Society.

Mr Maley, 62, has helped the Government department Defra produce a new video explaining about different styles of hedgelaying across the country.

He said: "The idea of hedges was to make a stock-proof hedge to stop animals getting out. In Sussex originally, everyone kept bullocks so they were designed to keep bullocks in a field.

"People gradually decided barbed wire was easier and you didn't have to cut it. But over the past 20 years, it has turned around and people have realised there are lots of benefits, such as biodiversity."

A spokeswoman for Defra said: "The video is to encourage this craft, which is quite a key mechanism for designing the landscape and preserving wildlife. They act as corridors for wildlife to scurry around."