Warminster residents asked if road should be closed for toads

Hundreds of toads cross Smallbrook Lane in Warminster every year

Residents are being asked if they would support a road closing over toad migration season.

Warminster's Smallbrook Lane has to be crossed by hundreds of toads every year so the amphibians can get to their "ancestral pond".

Many end up being killed by cars and the local toad patrol volunteers cannot look out for them all.

The town council is consulting with locals on whether it should ask Wiltshire Council for a closure.

Iain Perkins is an ecologist who lives locally and is part of Sustainable Warminster. He said the toads are on the move in February and March.

"The toads do love a nice wet night - the wetter and stormier the better.

"We will see hundreds of toads making their way from the surrounding areas up to the ancestral pond."

A group usually go around collecting the toads, putting them in buckets and taking them to safety.

Toad patrollers try and save the amphibians

Mr Perkins said toad numbers nationally were "plummeting".

Harriet James manages the town's toad patrol, which records the numbers every year, she said: "The females can have up to 1,500 eggs in them so if one of those gets killed, then it's a serious thing.

"We only get about 120 females a year, you can see numbers dropping.

"That's our main concern. That's why we think it would be better to close the road because we can't be there all night.

"We find there are certain nights where there are hundreds of them marching down to the pond."

Ms James said Smallbrook Lane was used as a cut-through by people when the main road was busy, and said it only took one car to kill many toads.

Patrollers are concerned toad numbers are dropping

The closure would be in place between 14 February and 13 March, from Smallbrook Lane car park to the junction with Upper Marsh Road and Henfords Marsh.

Warminster Town Council wants to know the views of residents before approaching Wiltshire Council, as it would also cost them up to £10,000 per year.

Wiltshire Council said anyone could apply for a closure, but those lasting weeks are usually for road or utility repairs, although an application would be considered on its merits.

The consultation survey closes on 18 December.