Two companies who illegally destroyed a habitat for the UK’s fastest-declining mammal species have agreed to fund an ecological survey to “make amends”.
The Environment Agency (EA) said it had received a report in March that ditch clearance work in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, had destroyed a water vole habitat.
The agency said a criminal investigation found there had been “no ill intent”, although the companies had been given prior advice about laws protecting wildlife.
Both companies, who are not named in the EA statement, agreed to fund a two-year water vole survey by ecologists at the Cotswold Lakes Trust charity, alongside a donation to support the charity’s nature recovery work.