CONSERVATION charity the National Trust has announced another record number of young people joining.

More than 50,000 took out the half-price membership — £50.40 a year — for 18- to 25-year-olds, according to the trust, which operates in England and Wales.

Its annual report published today shows that 50,600 new young members signed up last year, a 26 per cent rise after a record number of new young person’s memberships in the previous year, when 40,200 joined the charity.

“The surge in young people joining a conservation charity is good news for nature and good news for heritage,” said trust chairman Rene Olivieri.

The charity said Stourhead in Wiltshire, Calke Abbey in Derbyshire, and Attingham Park near Shrewsbury were the three most popular sites visited by young members.

The report publication comes ahead of the start of the trust’s annual open days festival, which gives the public a chance to sneak behind secret doorways and have one-off tours of popular sites for free.