Six Northumberland sites provide safety for crayfish

White-clawed crayfish are being killed off by American signal crayfish

Hundreds of endangered crayfish have been moved to six new refuge sites to allow them to breed safely.

White-clawed crayfish, the UK's only native crayfish, were once common in the River Wansbeck in Morpeth, Northumberland.

But the species is threated by the invasive American signal crayfish which competes for food and can pass on a deadly bug.

The new sites will give the species a safe place to breed.

The Ark sites offer the native white-clawed crayfish a safe place to breed

The crayfish were moved by Environment Agency and Northumberland Rivers Trust staff using traps and nets over five weeks under a Natural England conservation licence.

Ian Marshall, biodiversity technical specialist for the Environment Agency, said: "We're in very real danger of this native species disappearing from our rivers.

"These new Ark sites will give them a chance to breed and build new populations to help secure their long-term future."