Mercedes F1 team rehomes lizards found at HQ

The team said the lizards were "incredibly fast which is obviously something we really like here"

The Mercedes Formula 1 team rehomed a lounge of lizards it discovered during the redevelopment of a car park at its headquarters.

Seven common lizards were found during the work at the team's Brackley base in Northamptonshire.

The creatures were named Ziggy, Whizzy, Lizzy, Lissard, Lenny, Fizzy and Blizzard after the team hosted a competition for local children, who also drew pictures of the animals.

As part of the development of Mercedes' Brackley campus, an area of logs and stones has been assembled to provide a habitat for the lizards.

Alice Ashpitel, the sustainability manager at Mercedes F1, said finding the reptiles had been "an exciting discovery".

She said they were "beautiful creatures" with "an amazing dappled, spotted green and black back", adding "they are incredibly fast which is obviously something we really like here in Brackley".

Ms Ashpitel said: "Our big ambition [for the expansion] was to establish sustainability, biodiversity and nature across the campus.

"We’ve created areas of logs and stone paths because they love sunbathing and also created a sort of wild flower meadow next to our woodland so they will hopefully be there for many years to come.

"Our hope is they will continue to thrive. They will hibernate over the next few months and then next year we hope to see them build up their community."

Fizzy the common lizard, as drawn by Florence, aged nine

The common lizard is not currently rare or endangered in Britain, however, its numbers are considered to be declining due to loss of habitat.

They are also unusual among British reptiles as they 'give birth' to live young rather than laying eggs.

According to the Wildlife Trust, they measure between 10cm (3.9in) and 15cm (5.9in) and have an average lifespan of five to six years.