The BBC has been accused of wreaking environmental damage on a National Trust estate in order to film Springwatch.

Residents in the Peak District claim the production team for the hugely popular nature programme is destroying an area of the Longshaw Estate.

Live filming for the 20th anniversary series of the programme - fronted by environmental campaigner Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan - is taking place on the estate, which sits within the Peak District National Park, near Sheffield.

But images taken by local resident Christine Laver, supplied to MailOnline, show what some alleged to be hypocritical behaviour on the part of the BBC Natural History Unit, part of BBC Studios, the commercial production arm of the broadcaster.

Steel plates are laid out across part of the estate - which only some vehicles belonging to the production team are parked on, with others in the grass.