Free ponds on offer in Yorkshire for conservation of newts

Guidance for applicants states that the minimum and optimum size of each pond is 1600 sq ft (150 sq m) with a central depth of 3ft (1m)

Farmers and landowners are being offered funding to create and restore wildlife ponds in Yorkshire for the conservation of great crested newts.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Natural England said the project aimed to mitigate the impacts of development and strengthen existing populations.

The ponds would be fully funded, with work undertaken by the trust.

It is expected that newts and other wildlife would colonise the ponds naturally, a spokesperson said.

"All you need to do is periodic maintenance and allow occasional site visits," they added.

The newts can travel up to a third of a mile across land to find a breeding site

The trust described it as "an ongoing programme", and said it was currently inviting expressions of interest from landowners in West and North Yorkshire, including Scarborough, York, Richmondshire, Wakefield and Leeds.

All potential pond sites must lie in rough habitat and be within a third of a mile (500m) of an existing pond.

According to conservationists, the UK's populations of great crested newts have been in decline since the 1950s.

The newts travel across land to find a breeding site, and spend the rest of the year feeding on invertebrates in woodland, marshes and hedgerows.

They hibernate underground, among tree roots and in old walls.

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