Features

Oxton ‘toad crossing’ open again to help breeding amphibians

A road in a Nottinghamshire village is being closed for a month so that toads can reach their breeding ground on a special crossing.

Beanford Lane in Oxton is to be closed for the whole of March so that hundred of common toads can safely reach the nearby pond where they breed.

Picture: Margaret Cooper with one of the road’s toad warning signs

The council has also put up signs to warn drivers of the potential toad crossings on Blind Lane.

Resident Margaret Cooper organises donations to fund the closures every year, and also runs a nightly patrol to help the toads get across Blind Lane.

She said: “They used  to cross in large numbers but it has got less and less which is why we have set up barrier and patrols to help them.”

“I go out most evenings to pick them up to stop them getting squashed and help them cross to the lake where they mate.”

She added that the cold, dry weather last year meant that not many toads made the journey across and she was hoping for some warm, wet weather in March so the toads could get to their breeding ground.

Beanford Lane been closed for a month a year since 2000 to protect the toads but efforts to get them across safely have intensified recently as numbers have dwindled.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust (NWT) is trying to raise money to secure the road closure for the future.

Margaret is holding a coffee morning on April 2 to help raise funds to pay for the signs and fences needed to close the road.

Erin McDaid from the trust said the public had responded well to the quirky scheme.

He said: “Over the years it has been very positive. People have got used to that road being closed and understand the reasoning and  there is also an alternative route for traffic.”