OVERLOOKED by heavy industry you might think a Teesside lake would be the last place to expect to see one of Britain’s most secretive creatures.

But while it is located near to Teesside’s chemical industry, RSPB Saltholme is both home and stopping off point to a great many birds and other examples of wildlife.

The latest discovery, though, has caused more interest than usual.

A family of otters were reported swimming at the lake at Haverton in March and this month a local birdwatcher was able to count three animals.

Definitive proof came in the form of a video shot by Saltholme’s assistant warden Ed Pritchard.

Mr Pritchard said the animals are a mother and two cubs and he believes the youngsters to be between three months and a year old.

Otters are general solitary and territorial so to see a group is unusual, but cubs are dependent on their mother for a year and cannot swim for the first couple of months.

Mr Pritchard said otters were becoming more and more widespread.

“Otters are now found in every county in England after almost disappearing completely by the 1970s,” he said. “We know there are otters in the area. Sadly, an adult was found dead on the A178 and we found a dead adult on the road outside Saltholme two years ago.

“We have also found spraint or droppings and we captured them on a hidden camera last year. “There are also otters on the Tees at the barrage and at Portrack marsh.”

Mr Pritchard said good habitats and cleaner waterways had led to the animals growing in number.

“Saltholme is a shining example of how nature can survive in close proximity to industry with breeding common tern, lapwing, yellow wagtail, garganey and sand martins,” he said. “There are also good numbers of wintering wildfowl such as wigeon and also wintering waders such as lapwing and curlew. If there is good habitat and industry acts responsibly there is room for both.”

Anyone wanting to see the otters should head for the wildflower walk and viewpoint at the top, but you might have to be patient.

“Come to Saltholme. Then come again. And again,” said Mr Pritchard when asked what the odds were on spotting them. “Otters are shy and mainly active at dawn and dusk or at night.

“But there are many other things on offer with lots of easily viewable wildlife such as the buzzing sand martin colony, the islands packed with black headed gulls and common terns as well as breeding ducks and waders such as lapwing. There are also lots of kestrel, the chance of a marsh harrier, water vole or bittern.”