Volunteers have returned to their annual task of aiding migrating toads across two Ellesmere roads.

Until Tuesday, April 30 2024, short sections of Swan Hill and Caegoody Lane will be closed between 7pm and 5am each night to help toads in the area to head back to their breeding ponds after hibernation.

A local group of volunteers called Ellesmere Toad Patrol will again be on site this year, buckets in hand, to help the toads cross the road safely.

Due to the mild wet weather toads have begun migrating early this year and the first patrols were held last night on Wednesday, February 14.

Anyone local to Ellesmere who would like to volunteer for a couple of hours a week in teams of two or three is asked to visit Ellesmere Toad Patrol on Facebook.

According to FrogLife, between February and mid-April, toads all over the country will come out of hibernation and begin their hazardous journey back to their spawning ponds.

OTHER NEWS:

Common toads are declining in the UK with thousands of toads being killed on our roads every year, and they really need our help.

Toads usually move after dark when the temperature is above 6°C on damp evenings.

The numbers of toads recorded in Ellesmere are the largest known populations having to make the hazardous journey across roads to reach their ancestral breeding ponds in all of Shropshire and Staffordshire.

Signs will be erected in the road and a fully signed diversion route will be in place whilst the roads are closed.

Access will be provided to properties and businesses within the closures, for emergency service vehicles, and for pedestrians, dismounted cyclists and equestrians.

Local drivers are asked to look out for the toad signs on roads, and to take care, slow down and look out for volunteers in the Hi-Vis jackets.

Shropshire Council and its partner Kier have provided the signage free of charge.