For the first time in thousands of years, wild bison are roaming freely in ancient Kent woodland after being released this morning.

The huge animals have moved from Scotland to their new home at West Blean and Thornden Woods, located between Canterbury and Herne Bay.

Watch the Bison as they're released

The £1.1m rewilding Wilder Blean project - led by the Wildwood Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) - is expected to give the district a major cash injection by boosting tourist numbers.

The herd's matriarch and two more females have been brought to the area first, and will later be joined by a bull travelling over from Germany.

They were released into the woods shortly before 7.30am today.

A tearful Paul Whitfield, the director general of the Wildwood Trust, said minutes after: "I'm actually really emotional at the moment.

"It's just amazing, I mean, three years of work to this point, building this up, and to see the gates open, they came out, they were relaxed, had a snack, and then they've gone into the woods to do their thing, to be out there as ecological, ecosystem engineers. It's an amazing day.

"I can hear them cracking through the woods as we speak - it's brilliant."

The European bison are expected to be visible from some public footpaths - through fencing - in the woods.

A platform is also being built within Wildwood that overlooks a large area where the bison will be.

Following their release today, Stan Smith, the wild and landscapes manager for KWT, added: "I couldn't be happier.

"They did exactly what we were hoping they would do - the matriarch leading the herd out, checking that everything was OK, and then she sort of gave them the nod and out the younger females came.

"We couldn't have wanted it better than that. Absolutely perfect."

As well as attracting visitors to the area, it is also hoped the animals will create a more climate resilient landscape within the woods.

By creating layers within the forest and naturally felling trees, the woodland will move away from being a monoculture - and wetter areas will not only store carbon, but reduce flood risk.

Mr Smith said: "Now it's all about the bison out there, doing their business - being bison, starting to manage their habitat.

"They'll spend the first few days probably wandering around trying to suss out the size of the area they've got, working out what's good to eat, and we cannot wait to see how that starts to change the woodland over time, and see it come back to life.

"We'll start to see some big structural changes. As they start to eat their way through different plant species, some trees will start to die off, and we'll see some pockets of open areas into the woodland.

"That brings light down to the woodland floor, and that allows for a new flush of vegetation to come up.

"So we'll start to see the woodland go from being in straight rows and neat lines to being a bit more all mixed up, and all these different structures coming in place, which is fantastic for our native wildlife, with so many different spaces for them to occupy.

"It's going to be a bonanza for wildlife on site."

Evan Bowen-Jones, chief executive officer at KWT, added: “The restoration of naturally functioning ecosystems is a vital and inexpensive tool in tackling the climate crisis.

“The bison will help to create climate resistant landscapes which can adapt to the challenges presented by the crisis we face.

“We want Wilder Blean to mark the beginning of a new era for conservation in the UK.

"We need to revolutionise the way we restore natural landscapes, relying less on human intervention and more on natural engineers like bison, boar and beaver.

“Equally important, is that the Wilder Blean project will connect people with nature in a way that hasn't been possible before in the UK because we haven't had big wild animals present in our landscapes.

"We hope that those who visit the woodland and learn about the project will be inspired by what we are doing and become champions for nature too.”

It is hoped that the bisons' natural behaviours - such as grazing, eating bark, felling trees and taking dust baths - will open the canopy, creating light and new spaces for wildlife and previously missing species to thrive.

They will soon be joined by other grazing animals, including Exmoor ponies, Iron Age pigs and Longhorn cattle. Their impact on biodiversity and the landscape will be closely monitored in a long-term survey programme led by Kent Wildlife Trust.

The Wildwood Trust's Mr Whitfield said: “Today heralds a new dawn for conservation and the fight against climate change.

"As well as helping the biodiversity crisis, one of the fantastic things about this ground-breaking project is that it’s going to demonstrate the very real impact nature-based solutions can have in solving the climate crisis. The two are intrinsically linked and we can’t solve one without the other.

"With this project, we’re going to prove the impact bison in the wild can have on the environment. They will create an explosion of biodiversity and build habitat resilience - locking in carbon to help reduce global temperature rise."

Mr Whitfield says the projected will be replicated across the country.

"It will make a phenomenal difference," he said. "It's great news in these worrying times.

“Not only this but we're giving people in the UK - for the first time in over a thousand years - the chance to experience bison in the wild.

"It's a really powerful emotional, visceral experience and it’s something we’ve lost in this country. It's an absolute privilege to be part of the team that's bringing that back.”

Mr Whitfield previously told KentOnline that eventually people will be able to see the huge creatures – which can weigh up to a ton – without a barrier between them on special tours

"Once they’re settled we’ll be doing walking safaris into the Blean, where the bison will be within the enclosures, in their habitats, without a fence between them," he said.

While Wildwood may be organising supervised tours within the fenced-off enclosures, at all other times the bison will be kept separate from members of the public.

KWT had launched a bid in October to erect four viewing stations around a proposed 500-acre enclosure – the size of 1,000 football pitches – in the woodland.

Drawings showed that the animals - Europe’s largest mammal - would have been able to pass under the platforms through so-called “bison tunnels” that would have allowed them access other parts of the forest.

But the plans were snubbed by Canterbury City Council earlier this year, meaning the bison will remain inside a 120-acre zone adjoining Wildwood’s Canterbury Road base.

“The first area the bison are going into is complete – we don’t need the tunnels for them to get into there,” Mr Whitfield explained.

“As soon as the tunnels are built there’ll be that second area for them to go into."

KWT is readying a second application for the viewing stations, as it remains steadfast in its desire to have the expanded zone.

Mr Whitfield had originally expected to welcome the creatures to the area in May – but says added paperwork and red tape caused by Brexit have delayed the project.

Bison have not roamed freely in the UK for about 30,000 years.

“For the first few weeks the animals won’t be particularly visible because they’ll be settling in, having their health checks,” Mr Whitfield continued.

“Once they’re fully out in the Blean then they’ll be much more visible.”

The £1.125m project was funded by money raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and awarded through the annual Dream Fund.