John Rodwell, 66, lived in Wombwell until he was 13 and went on to become a professor of ecology based in Lancaster but regularly visits the town to see family.

He is currently working on securing funding for a website for residents to upload photos and stories from their experiences of the local landscape.

And an envisaged computer application for smartphones connected to the internet would also allow people visiting Wombwell Wood to be given a virtual tour of the history of the area as they pass through it.

A questionnaire on the idea was included in picnic packages at Wednesday's 'Picnic in the Park' event and John said the feedback would help put forward a case for Heritage Lottery funding.

John said: "Wombwell Wood has been on the town's horizon for many centuries. The Domesday Book records a woodland here and we have maps dating back to 1750 which show us that the wood has almost the same shape as now.

"But what's fascinating is that in the varied pattern of different trees we can see the history of the town, its fluctuating fortunes in farming, iron smelting, mining and recreation, stories of individuals, families and neighbourhoods."

Joy Bretton, of the Friends of Wombwell Wood, said she greatly favoured the idea.

She said: "Anything that gets the wood used to its full extent is a good thing.

One of the things this could do is act almost as a geographical positioning system so you know where you're going in the wood and can learn about its history while you're doing."