Mushrooms could be consigned to history on Wimbledon Common as fungi pickers flout a ban to satiate the appetite among restaurateurs for the prized delicacy.

Despite the ban the Commons Conservators say they still catch people bagging up fungi at the crack of dawn.

Members even claim some people are caught with more than three or four bags on a daily basis.

And they have warned that if mushrooms disappear from the common, then its complex eco-system may change forever.

Conservator Tony Drakeford said: "Restaurants send these people up to pick as many fungi as they can, and then sort out the one or two edible ones and throw the rest away.

"If it wasn't for fungi, the trees wouldn't be alive because they have a symbiotic relationship."

"Bagging mushrooms stops their spores from circulating and new mushrooms growing."

He added: "It is a shame, but people abuse the system."

Wild mushroom picking has become increasingly popular in recent years thanks to chefs such as fungi fanatic Antonio Carluccio, who held a mushroom market in his Putney restaurant last month.