A SITE once owned by chemical firm ICI is to become a major regional wildlife haven after a £700,000 investment.

Work on creating the 380-hectare - or 940-acre - reserve near Billingham, on Teesside, began last year and is expected to attract a number of Britain's rarest birds, including bittern and bearded tits.

Current work under way on the wetland site by developers, Teesside Environmental Trust (TET), includes laying huge sections of reed turfs across an area the size of 11 football pitches.

The site, formerly owned mainly by ICI, is on the north side of the River Tees, on the outskirts of Billingham, off the A178.

The project is being funded by the Government landfill tax credits scheme, with contributions from Zero Waste and Capital Waste Management.

The reserve is expected to be completed by 2007 and the public will be able to visit.

"We hope there will be rare birds and animals - but we also especially want people to come," said TET spokesman David Hirst. "Sometimes, when people hear the word 'reserve' they think they can't come, but we want the people of the North-East, and especially Teesside, to visit. We hope this place will be a fun, inspirational and educational attraction."

Other work on the site, which will be of international importance as a wildlife reserve, includes creating lakes, ponds and grasslands. There will also be visitor facilities.