HUNDREDS of toads’ lives have been potentially saved from a trench threatening their annual mating ritual in Bovey Tracey.

The dug out trench, part of temporary roadworks, was starting to trap the toads as they made their annual migration hop from local countryside to a nearby pond.

Peter Burgess, director of Devon Wildlife Trust, said: ‘I live locally and was walking along the Chudleigh Knighton to Bovey Tracey one evening when I saw a trench had been dug running along a 150-metre stretch.

‘I could see that in parts it was up to a metre deep and had sheer sides. This made it a perfect trap for unsuspecting amphibians to fall in to. Once in there it was clear they wouldn’t be able to get out.

‘The timing of the trench and its positioning would have spelt real danger to local toad populations. It’s on mild and wet evenings at this time of year that toads make their migration across the countryside to ponds. They do this to meet and mate with other toads. They are creatures of habit and use the same ponds and same routes each year.

‘The problem with this trench was it stood on one such route between hundreds of toads and their destination, two ponds on the other side of the road.’

Little Bradley Ponds is a well-known toad-mating spot. Peter returned with his two children, Amelia, aged nine, and seven-year-old Joe. Together they managed to rescue a number of toads, which had become trapped in the trench.

Peter added: ‘Together we scooped out the trapped toads using a fishing net. It was good to release them so that they could resume their journey to the ponds to mate, but it was obvious we needed a better long-term solution to the problem.’

The Trust contacted Bovis Homes who had dug the trench to install cabling to a nearby housing development. Working with environmental consultants, they acted quickly and filled in the trench the following day.

A spokesman from DWT added: ‘We’re so pleased that disaster was averted. Toads get killed on Devon’s roads each spring, it’s an unfortunate part of their mating migrations.

‘However, a trench like this had the potential to trap hundreds of them and to devastate an entire local population.’

‘The vigilance of Peter and his family and the quick cooperation of Bovis Homes have saved the day in this instance. But it does underline that we all have to be aware of wildlife and its needs, otherwise we risk losing it.’