An injection of £10m of government money will help restore more than 10,000 football pitches-worth of England’s iconic peatlands.

Peat bogs and fens are important habitats that provide food and shelter for wildlife, help with flood management, improve water quality and play a part in climate regulation.

The total area of 6,580 hectares of upland and lowland peatlands that these grants will support work on is equivalent to 10,613 football pitches. The work will be delivered through four local partnership projects and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions making their way into the atmosphere by creating a natural store for carbon.

Defra has allocated a total of £10 million between four projects throughout the UK. This work is expected to abate and store an estimated 23,000 tonnes of carbon per year contributing to the UK’s climate change goals.

Environment minister Thérèse Coffey said: "Peatlands are an iconic aspect of the English landscape which are not only a haven for wildlife but also provide us with clean water and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out the government’s commitment to improve peatlands and grant schemes such as this one will enable us to leave our environment better than we inherited it."

The South West Peatlands Bid led by South West Water will be delivered through local partnerships. The focus is on 1,680 ha of upland peat across Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor. To date very little of the peatland on Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor has been restored. Exmoor has had over 1,900 ha of restoration to date.

Morag Angus, Exmoor Mires Partnership manager said: "The peatlands of south west England are very important for water quality, carbon storage, biodiversity, cultural history, recreation and farming but they are the most vulnerable in the UK to the impacts of climate change, due to their southerly position. Working with our partners in these three moors enables these nationally and internationally important habitats to be restored for the benefit of all and future generations."