IT appears Dorset residents love the National Trust.

Membership of the Trust has topped four million for the very first time.

And Dorset has been named as the county with the highest proportion of NT members – almost a fifth (19 per cent) of the population are signed up.

The Trust, which looks after more than 300 historic houses, more than 600,000 acres of land and 700 miles of coastline, has seen numbers rise from just 100 in 1895 when it was founded.

By the outbreak of the First World War membership stood at 670. It reached one million in 1981, two million in 1990 and three million in 2002.

Membership of the organisation provided £120 million in the last financial year to support “vital” conservation work, the Trust said.

Some 90 million visits are made to National Trust houses, gardens, coast and countryside each year.

Dorset National Trust sites include Brownsea Island, Corfe Castle, Kingston Lacy near Wimborne and the Hardy Monument near Portesham.

Allan King, spokesman for South West National Trust, said: “The Trust receives great support from the people of Dorset. There are two reasons why people become members in the Trust. Those who can get access to Corfe Castle, Kingston Lacy and Brownsea Island and can use the car parks. The other reason is they want to support the work of the Trust to preserve the houses and the wildlife on the heathland areas and along the coast of Dorset.”

Dame Fiona Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, said: “Whether it’s a love for their local place, a passion for anything from surfing to fine art, or simply the joy of spending family time together – there’s clearly a growing hunger for what we have to offer.”