A LIFELONG lover of Dartmoor has been elected the chairman of a national body for national parks.

Kate Ashbrook is the new chairman of the Council for National Parks (CNP), a charity which campaigns for the preservation and protection of English and Welsh national parks.

Since Kate first visited Dartmoor in 1965, aged 10, her love for the area has grown. She says the moor is her favourite of all the national parks. She is also the president of Dartmoor Preservation Society, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, a former chairman of the Ramblers? Association and now chairman of its access committee.

In her new role Kate and the council will spearhead the long-term campaign against military training on Dartmoor. She hope this will be a success when the Duchy of Cornwall reviews the military?s live fire licence in northern Dartmoor in 2012.

She said: ?We are a national body campaigning on military issues over all the national parks in England and Wales. When we campaign for Dartmoor, it?s in a national context and is our top priority.?

Kate, who attended Exeter University and stayed in the city so she could be near the moor, said the national parks had never been so popular, or more vulnerable, in the 50 years since their creation.

She said the council?s job was to prevent the parks? principles from being sullied and to allow millions of people to enjoy them without degrading them.

Kate, who, because of work commitments, now lives in Buckinghamshire, said: ?The chairman position is a challenge I gladly take up, knowing that the CNP has a fine record in combat and in support of these incomparable treasures.?