Wildlife trust raises £143,000 to buy dyke near Cambridge

The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants aimed to raise £150,000 to buy part of Fleam Dyke near Cambridge and some land next to it

A wildlife trust has said a "last-minute push" means it can buy part of a dyke to rejuvenate it for nature.

The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants held a month-long appeal for £150,000 to buy part of Fleam Dyke near Cambridge.

A "big flow of donations" ended the appeal with £143,000 on Friday, said Nic Shelton from the Trust.

He said: "We've got lots of people who really care about wildlife ... so we're confident we'll buy the land."

The trust said it would be confident about making up any shortfall between the funds raised and the cost of buying the land.

The dyke is home to a variety of plants and insects

The dyke was dug out by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 4th or 5th Century and runs between Fulbourn and Balsham next to Mutlow Hill, which was a Bronze Age burial barrow dated to 2,000BC.

The donations will go towards buying part of the three-mile-long (4.8km) dyke, which has an earthbank seven metres high next to it.

Mr Shelton said some of the money would also go towards buying 2.8 acres (7.6 hectares) of land next to it to widen the area and help the spread of wildflowers.

"We had lots of lovely comments from people saying they wanted to protect this chalk grassland... [and] we just want to say a huge thanks to everybody," he added.

He said the plans for the dyke once it has been purchased include putting grazing animals, such as sheep or goats, on it and knocking back scrub on the land.

People may be able to see sheep or goats at the dyke if the trust's plans for it go ahead

Mr Shelton said: "We can't survive without nature ... we rely on nature. It's something that many, many people love.

"The more we can raise awareness and acquire sites like Fleam Dyke and carry out conservation and get more support, we're [then] edging closer to get that nature back."