WIDE swathes of the North York Moors could be turned back into a wilderness roamed by elk, beaver and wild horses under plans drawn up by a conservation charity.

The Wilderness Foundation has identified 800,000 hectares of Britain that could be transformed from managed farmland into a wild natural habitat, including parts of the North York Moors and the Pennines.

The charity believes the plan would allow struggling farmers to revitalise their businesses by opening the door to thousands of eco-tourists.

Toby Aykroyd, vice-chairman of the foundation, said many farms will become uneconomic over the next ten to 15 years as European subsidies are progressively cut.

He added: "What we are trying to do is move away from a situation where farmers are going out of business one after the other and put forward a proactive strategy which is best for local landowners and farmers."

Part of the plan could see species which died out in Britain hundreds of years ago being reintroduced.

Mr Aykroyd said the most likely species for the North York Moors would be beaver.

"Some of the lower reaches with becks could be suitable for beaver reintroduction," he said.

The charity is now consulting with wildlife groups across the country, but Peter Barfoot, head of advisory services for the North York Moors National Park Authority, said they would be unlikely to back any "re-wilding" programme.

"We do not think that it is necessarily an appropriate approach for the vast majority of the national park," he said.

"It could exacerbate environmental and social economic issues within the national park.

"This kind of idea of a wilderness is not one that we would support."

Rural affairs, landscape and biodiversity minister Jim Knight also poured cold water on the proposals.

He said: "We should protect our wild spaces, and there may be a role for limited re-wilding to connect those wild spaces - but, in the end, the English landscape will remain a managed landscape."

Kath Toward, who has won environmental awards at Herdship Farm, in Harwood-in-Teesdale, high in the North Pennines, agreed that the idea has several flaws.

"The problem is when you move something like this forward, it's very hard to move it back," she said.