A Nottinghamshire MP has called on the government to create a "new Sherwood Forest" out of old mining land.

The Labour MP for Sherwood, Paddy Tipping, told the House of Commons a site in Gedling would be ideal.

Although it is badly contaminated, Mr Tipping said it could become an example of the government's commitment to land regeneration.

He said: "This could be a prime candidate for a new country park.

Green future

"It would be a kind of alchemy to take a muddy piece of the old mining industry and create part of a new Sherwood Forest.

"We ought to have the ability and the imagination to achieve that."

A large number of former pit sites have been reused in the East Midlands but these are usually for housing or light industry.

The creation of the Sherwood Energy Village in Ollerton showed pit sites could have a green future, but initial decontamination of the site took seven years.

Mr Tipping is a passionate campaigner for improving the countryside and is President of the Nottinghamshire Ramblers Association.