Six-week road closure to help mating toads

Alice Smith

BBC News, West of England

A road has been closed for six weeks to protect thousands of toads, frogs and newts as they make their way to their breeding lake.

Volunteers are patrolling Charlcombe Lane in Bath to ensure motorists do not use the route until 23 March.

The seasonal closure is only one of four in the UK and has been in place since 2003.

Before it was introduced, 62% of amphibians attempting to cross were killed by traffic, the figure dropped to only 6% in 2024.

Last year, more than 3,200 amphibians were helped across the half-mile (0.8km) stretch of road, making it the busiest season in 14 years.

Helen Hobbs, who from Charlcombe Toad Rescue Group, called the closure a “game changer” for the local amphibian population, which has remained stable despite national declines.

“With a changing climate, it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the peak times for amphibian movements, which is why closing the road for six weeks really matters,” she said.

Volunteers spend more than 600 hours patrolling the lane, wearing high-visibility jackets and using torches and buckets to carefully collect the amphibians.

Toads, frogs, and newts are picked up using latex-free gloves to avoid contamination before being safely transported to drop-off points near the breeding lake.

Conservation charity Froglife, which collates national data on toad patrols, said road traffic, habitat loss, and climate change pose major threats to amphibians.

Research has shown common toad populations have declined by 68% in the past 30 years.