Britain’s extinct wildflowers have been brought back in a powerful exhibition at the University of Winchester’s West Downs Gallery.

The showcase, titled The Englishwoman's Flora, features over 200 intricate sculptures by artist Fiona Hingston, crafted from masking tape, wire and graphite.

The colourless creations are imprinted with a ghostly feel, mirroring the loss of wildflower meadows from our landscapes.

Hingston, rooted in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, has been charting local environmental changes through her art for 20 years.

The exhibit is a response to her growing alarm over the impact of industrial farming, including the decline of indigenous flora and fauna.

Fiona Hingston said: "In 1962 Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a book that foretold the destruction of flora and fauna by the indiscriminate use of herbicides and pesticides. Two years later I was presented at a school prize giving with a copy of The Observer’s Book of Wild Flowers - ‘awarded for excellent progress’.

"The irony of this was not lost on me when I recently opened the book and realised I can no longer find many of the flowers illustrated there. Progress at what cost? Ninety-seven per cent of British wildflower meadows have now disappeared.

"Deciding that if I couldn’t find them, I would get to know each of the 200 flowers in the book by making them. My hope is that with our increasing awareness of this devastating loss and subsequent effects on biodiversity, these ghost flowers just might have the chance to flourish again."

Open till June 26, the gallery welcomes visitors from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and 8.30am to 4pm on Saturdays.