TREDEGAR House's caravan park brought nearly £3.1 million into the economy in the Newport area over the past five years, according to the new director general of The Caravan Club.

Nick Lomas, new director general of The Caravan Club said the Tredegar House Country Park Caravan Park has helped pump £3.1 million into the economy almost all through spending in local shops, pubs, restaurants and tourist attractions.

The site's eighty pitches have already been booked up in preparation for the Ryder Cup tournament in October.

Site warden, Pip Crane, who runs the caravan park with his wife Nadine, said: “This area has it all. It really is the gateway to Wales and has access to all that the south east of Wales can offer.

“Everyone is proud to be part of the significant host area for autumn's upcoming Ryder Cup, staged so close to Tredegar House.

"All eighty pitches are already filled for the event, some of them to people who work behind the scenes at the tournament.”

Mr Crane said that many people who stay on site use it as a base for events both in Newport and Cardiff and they also see a lot of visitors who come specifically to travel to the Dr Who experience in Cardiff.

He said: “With around 200 visitors here at any one time, we are a big contributor to the local economy. We are rarely less than half full at any time, and that's usually in the middle of the week. At weekends, we're very often full.”

Mr Lomas met Assembly tourism minister Alun Ffred Jones earlier this week to highlight the economic impact of The Caravan Club's 20 sites across Wales.

He said the club invested more than £4million upgrading sites in Wales over the past five years.