Nature reserve staff row to work

Staff will have to use a boat again in March when the new bridge is installed

Staff at the Slimbridge Wetlands Centre in Gloucestershire will have to travel to work by boat while a canal footbridge, Patch Bridge, is removed.

The hand-cranked swing bridge over the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal is being replaced by a stronger motorised one, more suitable for visiting coaches.

Some 25 wardens are rowing to the wildfowl sanctuary to reach the protected birds.

The centre will be closed to the public for one day and reopens on 7 January.

'Excitement'

Veronica Morriss, the centre manager at Slimbridge, said: "Despite being closed to the public we still need to feed both the collection and wild birds and therefore need to ensure essential staff can get to work.

"The boat seemed the most obvious way and we hope that it will add a bit of excitement to what will otherwise be a very quiet day for us."

The wetlands centre recently welcomed back hundreds of Bewick swans from Siberia.

Other species such as pintails, teals, shovelers, a bittern, a Cetti's warbler and a great spotted woodpecker have all been seen around Slimbridge's lakes over the last month.

The repair project to replace Patch Bridge is being co-ordinated by British Waterways and Gloucestershire County Council, with work due to continue until 30 March.

Staff will have to travel by boat on two further days - 6 March and 24 March - when the new bridge will be installed.