A TOMORROW'S World for Chester Zoo's elephants was officially unveiled by TV presenter Philippa Forrester on Saturday.

Philippa, host of shows including Robot Wars, Tomorrow's World and The Time Machine, opened the £3 million Elephants of the Asian Forest, a home for the zoo's nine elephants.

The opening of the exhibit marked the end of a fundraising campaign - Asian Elephants - Secure the Future - which saw £1.5 million raised from a public appeal and £500,000 raised from a private appeal.

Elephants of the Asian Forest has been designed to enable the zoo to continue its breeding work with its current herd while helping educate visitors about the issues facing Asian elephants in the wild.

The new building stands more than 12 metres high and covers more than 2,900 square metres.

As well as the Asian elephants, it is also home to species including horn-bills, tree shrews, peafowl and tortoises and has been designed around an Assam forest theme.

Mark Pilgrim, director of conservation and education, said: 'We have been breeding Asian elephants since 1977 and have what is one of the most dynamic and successful breeding herds in Europe.

'Asian elephants are listed on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species and their numbers are shrinking rapidly. Using interpretation in the new facility enables us to spread that message to the general public and to also inform them about the conservation arm of Chester Zoo.'

Part of the money raised from the elephant appeal has been used to fund projects overseas including Assam where elephants and humans have come into conflict, leading to a decline in numbers of the Asian elephant.

Melanie Cowieson, the zoo's development manager, said: ' The new facility could not have been made possible without the time and effort of so very many people and it is rewarding to finally see it come to fruition.'