Beavers could return to Welsh waters

Beavers could return to Welsh waters later this year centuries after they disappeared.

The River Rheidol river in Ceredigion has previously been identified as the preferred location to reintroduce them.

Natural Resources Wales has said work is continuing to assess the results of pilot projects elsewhere in the UK.

Supporters say beavers can help prevent flooding, improve water quality and boost biodiversity but farmers' leaders have voiced concern about their impact.

Adrian Lloyd Jones, who is leading the Welsh Beaver Project - led by the six Welsh Wildlife Trusts - told BBC Wales' Sunday Supplement programme that beavers would bring numerous benefits to the local countryside.

But Bernard Llewellyn, rural affairs board chairman of the farming unions NFU Cymru, said he was concerned they would spread disease.