Thousands of rare snake's head fritillaries in flower

A rare early spring flower, which provides essential food for bumble bees, is making a comeback.

Snake's head fritillaries were once very common in damp and wetland soils but became rare due habitat destruction.

Thousands of blooms are have flowered in Stonebridge Wild River Reserve in Marlborough.

The bulbs were planted by volunteers with the conservation charity Action for the River Kennet (ARC).

The flowers can be chequered in shades of purple, or sometimes pure white, and grow up to 40cm tall.

They bloom from March to May and thrive in water meadows and damp grassland.

There had been concern for the bulbs, after the river reserve was completely flooded in January, but they appear to have survived unharmed.

Charlotte Hitchmough, the the director of ARC, said: "We've had hundreds of volunteers and many thousands of bulbs have gone in.

"They are an early flowering plant and particularly important for insects."

Charlotte Hitchmough, director of Marlborough ARC charity, helped plant the bulbs

Ms Hitchmough said many of the bulbs have been donated and some were purchased using grants. "They are just so beautiful and so fragile," she said.

"They can be crushed quite easily and obviously we are in bird nesting season now, so in any of these wild spaces, the more people can keep their dogs on a lead the better."

The flowers are thriving in the water meadows alongside the River Kennet in Marlborough

Other locations where snake's head fritillaries flower include Cricklade's North Meadow national nature reserve and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust site at Lower Moor farm near Malmesbury.