New ponds 'attract' rare wildlife

The creation of new freshwater ponds in Britian is having a positive impact on wildlife, the Environment Agency says.

The regulator is involved in charity Pond Conservation's plan to replace or restore the 500,000 ponds said to have been lost in the past century.

It says biodiversity has rapidly improved in the 234 ponds it has worked on so far this year.Some 80 threatened species of aquatic insects, amphibians and plants are said to rely on the ponds for survival.

Wildlife including water voles, natterjack toads and great crested newts have all been spotted in the new ponds, the Environment Agency saidThe toothed threadwort, tadpole shrimp and one-grooved diving beetle should all be among the species to benefit from the creation of so much habitat, it added.

As part of the scheme, the Environment Agency has this year created 184 ponds and restored a further 50 that were in poor condition.The work included the creation of more than 30 ponds in a previously contaminated landscape at the former Wheal Jane tin mine near Truro, Cornwall.

Lord Chris Smith, chairman of the Environment Agency, said: "Halting the loss of Britain's precious native species is a huge challenge, and an urgent one."

He added: "Ponds are incredibly important for hundreds of plants and animals, and also help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.