Rare newts are moved to new home

You can face a fine of up to £5,000 per creature if you kill or injure a newt

A delicate re-homing operation has been carried out in Bristol, in which 15 endangered Great Crested Newts we moved across the city.

The creatures, which cost £200 each to move, were living in an overflow diesel tank in Aztec West.

They were moved, for their long-term safety, to a pond a short distance away in Patchway.

The rare newts not only have local, regional and national protection, but they also now have European protection.

Ecologist Sue Jones looked after the mass amphibian movements. She said: "It [the breed] has gone into terrible decline over the last century.

"That's through loss of ponds and habitat through development, new agricultural practices and even people in their own gardens will sometimes lose those rough, wildlife areas and tidy up a bit more."

She added: "The Great Crested Newts are now improving due to this protection that we've out in in the UK.

"Legally we have to, as a country, be seen to be protecting these newts."

If you kill or injure a newt you can have a fine of up to £5,000 per creature and up to six months in prison, so they have to be moved by a team of licensed professionals.