Huge caterpillar web blankets Yorkshire hedgerow

Dr Phil Sterling, from the Butterfly Conservation charity, said the web was an "impressive infestation"

A huge blanket of caterpillar webs covering almost 100ft (30m) of a hedgerow has been caught on camera.

Photographer Mick Hickman said the webs, near Bawtry, South Yorkshire, were only the second time he had seen the phenomenon.

Small ermine moth caterpillars are thought to have formed the large communal web for their own protection.

Dr Phil Sterling, from the Butterfly Conservation charity, described it as "a very impressive infestation".

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Mr Hickman, who took the pictures on Tuesday, said: "I could see nothing but web over a large area. It went down the hedgerow, across the grass and even on to the concrete in some places.

"At first I thought it was a massive spider's web and thought 'that's a bit creepy'. But when I looked closely I saw thousands of harmless caterpillars.

"It was a good thing to see," he added.

Dr Sterling said there were different types of small ermine moth and he thought these were orchard moths

Mr Hickman, who lives in Misson, a village in Nottinghamshire on the border with South Yorkshire, said he never went anywhere without his camera.

Dr Sterling said the number of ermine moth caterpillars "get enormous every now and then" and there would be tens of thousands in the hedge.

However, he added there was "no danger, no threat" and it was merely done "to avoid predation".

Photographer Mick Hickman said the massive web was "a good thing to see"

Dr Sterling said there was no need to worry about the effect on the hedgerow and though all the leaves would be stripped it would survive.

"By the end of July, it will be like the caterpillars weren't there. It will have gone from ghostly white to green again," he said.

"It is great spectacle to be enjoyed", he added.

Over 2,400 species of moth have been recorded in the British Isles.