LORD Ivar Mountbatten has waived fees for members of the public visiting his Devon estate in a bid to "keep the wolf from the door."

Entrance to Lord Mountbatten's Bridwell Park Estate grounds has been made free, in a move Lord Mountbatten said hoped would "Encourage everyone in our local and wider community to feel welcome to visit us."

The news was confirmed in a statement posted to social media, where Lord Mountbatten said despite "wonderful" support from visitors, the costs of overheads were had risen "exponentially."

In a statement posted to the Bridwell Facebook page, Lord Mountbatten said: "Sadly, there is no getting away from the fact that membership and general admission income hasn't strengthen our position as much as we hoped or needed.

"From February 1 I will be lifting all admission charges to the Orangery Cafe and Parkland. My aim is to keep the wolf from the door by maintaining healthy visitor numbers across the seven day week and to encourage everyone in our local and wider community to feel welcome to visit us.

"Our fantastic welcome stewards will remain a presence in the Parkland at weekends in addition to busy event dates - to bid you a cheery hello, answer any questions you may have, monitor litter, behaviours and movements in connections with dogs on leads, health and safety and kindness and respect."