Fund raising will support the project to bring back beavers to Northamptonshire

Beavers are "charismatic" native mammals and have been reintroduced to wetlands across England in recent years

An appeal has been launched to fund an attempt to introduce beavers back into Northamptonshire.

Nearly £74,000 is needed to pay for fences and cameras for the project at the Nene Wetlands nature reserve.

The site is next to the Rushden Lakes shopping and leisure complex, so the dam-making creatures could get millions of visitors each year.

The county's wildlife trust said supporters of the appeal would "help us inspire people with a story of hope".

Beavers became extinct in Britain about 400 years ago because they were hunted for their fur and meat.

They have been reintroduced to some parts of the country but have not been seen in Northamptonshire for four centuries.

Matt Johnson from the Wildlife Trust said the project was a "first for Northamptonshire"

Matt Johnson of the Wildlife Trust said: "It is only in the last 10 to 15 years that beavers have started to be reintroduced back into the country.

"I think the closest reintroductions are in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, so this will be the first one for Northamptonshire."

Even conservation work can disturb wildlife at the site

'Hard-working beavers'

If the reintroduction is successful, the beavers will actually be helping helping to look after the wetlands through coppicing, felling and creation of micro-habitats.

"This was the prime site - it's got a lot of restrictions in terms of the wildlife that's here which makes it difficult for us to come in and do conservation work," Mr Johnson added.

The idyllic site is very close to Rushden Lakes and the A45

The trust needs to find £73,982 to prepare the site for the arrival of the beavers.

A total of 5,413ft (1,650m) of fencing will be required, along with a network of trail cameras to monitor the fluffy creatures.

Interpretation boards are being created to tell the public more about what they can see and there will also be educational information packs.

The appeal runs until the end of January, and the beavers will be arriving from Scotland next autumn.