Concerns are mounting over the future of a key Torbay nature reserve after a leading conservation charity entered liquidation.

Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust chairwoman Barbara King announced on Friday that rising financial pressures had become “too great” for the charity to withstand, despite sustained efforts to remain operational.

The trust has been responsible for managing Berry Head National Nature Reserve, as well as other important green spaces including Cockington Country Park and Occombe Farm.

Alex Foley, who owns the popular Guardhouse Café within the reserve, said many local residents and visitors were deeply concerned about what this means for the site’s long-term future.

Mr Foley said: “There is worry about stopping what the services that the trust have been doing will mean.

“The trust members are worried about the nature reserve getting overgrown, the car parking not working and there not being a toilet down there.

“I’m confident somehow something will come along and that will be taken care of – it has to because this is a national nature reserve and there are legal requirements for maintaining it in a certain way.”

For years, the trust has cared for nearly 80% of Torbay’s natural landscapes, maintaining more than 40 miles (64km) of coastal paths and bridleways.

It confirmed that Occombe Farm and its farm café would “close imminently” due to the organisation’s collapse.

Despite the uncertainty, Mr Foley said he remained confident that the Guardhouse Café would continue to operate, even though the trust is its current landlord.

“There’s been a cafe on Berry Head for more than 100 years and I’m sure there’ll be a cafe there for another 100,” he said.

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At Natural World Fund, we are passionate about restoring habitats in the UK to halt the decline in our wildlife.