THE future looks brighter for Britain’s only venomous snake – the increasingly rare adder – thanks to reptile expert James Stroud.

Although the creature is one of the world’s most studied snakes, mysteries still remain, especially why it is found in some areas, but not others.

So as part of his university master’s degree, 25-year-old Mr Stroud pulled on his walking boots and set out to shed light on the subject.

Adders are thought to be on the decline due to habitat loss, but the Forestry Commission’s North Yorkshire woods are a stronghold and Mr Stroud delved into the creature’s secret world in the North York Moors forests.

He probed why the snake preferred some areas over others and looked at factors such as the availability of food, other small mammals and the age of trees.

He also investigated the threat posed by predators such as birds of prey and crows by deploying 250 plasticine adders – some of which showed signs of being attacked.

What he found was that young conifer plantations were adder hotspots and the abundance of food was less important than the threat from potential foes in determining whether the creature frequented a forest haunt.

He also concluded that linking together adder breeding colonies with “snake-friendly corridors” could give the species a big boost.

“Young forest plantations are an important refuge, offering a place to bask and with shelter from potential predators,” he said.

“My data suggests that linking together such areas could be a real help to adder populations.

That would allow them to spread more easily and not become isolated by denser forestry, which is not such a good snake habitat.

“There is something intriguing and unknown about snakes. Very encouragingly, I found that there are quite a lot in local forests – but you need to know where to look.”

Forestry Commission wildlife officer Brian Walker said: “James’ work is really important – it reinforces the value of creating wildlife corridors throughout the forest, not just for snakes, but other animals too.”

Design plans could now be tailored to create adder corridors in woods where possible – breeding sites are already plotted on mapping systems.

Future projects could include could DNA testing of adder colonies to discover whether they intermix.