A WHITE witch has threatened to cast a spell on the National Trust for letting the Cerne Abbas Giant fade away.

Controversy surrounds the 180ft chalk giant this year because the grass has not been cropped, resulting in the greenery covering up the outlines of the famous Dorset landmark.

The National Trust says the wet spring and the fact that they have been unable to borrow the sheep that usually keep the hill in shape during the spring and summer are to blame for the change in maintenance.

West Dorset Property Manager for the National Trust Helen Mann said: "Being on such a steep incline the giant is not in a position where we can safely mow or strim.

"In the past we have relied on sheep to keep him shorn but we haven't been able to secure a flock since last September for one reason or another."

The trust doesn't currently have the resources to manage a flock of its own on the site.

Kevin Carlyon, the High Priest of British White Witches from St Leonards in East Sussex, has hit out at the custodians of the giant because of what he calls a lack of interest in allowing the figure to grow over and become hardly visible'.

He said: "People pay for the National Trust to preserve these sites so where is the money allocated for the figure going. If they aren't prepared to do something quickly I will encourage my pagans and witches to go to Cerne Abbas and we'll do it ourselves."

He added: "In the meantime I will be casting a spell on those in the National Trust who are responsible for this oversight."

Mr Carlyon brought publicity to the giant when he started to use the hill as a sacred place for childless couples and carry out fertility spells.

Spokesman for the National Trust Maurice Flynn said: "The trust works with witches and pagans across the sites we manage - including Avebury and Stonehenge.

"It's disappointing that one witch would be asking the rest of the community to turn against a committed conservation charity because of a grazing problem we've faced on his site this year."

The National Trust say the giant will be rechalked in September.