A PROJECT to help protect endangered newts in Darlington has received a £5,000 grant.

The Darlington branch of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) has been working at Brinkburn Pond and the nearby Black Path area to improve habitats.

Now it has received a grant from the Barclays Sitesavers scheme to create one, possibly two, new ponds in the area, which lies between the rolling mills site on Whessoe Road, and Hartington Way, off Brinkburn Road.

The site includes Brinkburn Pond, where a second viewing platform will be erected, and a wooded area in which there are already several other ponds, Horsfields and Black Path among them. The money will also allow the creation of a wildflower meadow.

Newts are under pressure throughout Britain due to the loss of their habitat to development and agriculture but Darlington retains a healthy population of great crested, which are a protected species.

Both great crested and smooth newts have been seen in the area and Helen Tomb, project officer with BTCV, said: "The idea is to create a network of ponds for them. They can travel overland so we hope the new ponds will be of benefit to them, and also to other wildlife."

BTCV hopes to involve the community in the work, which has already started and will continue over the next twelve months, and hopes that school groups will be among those taking part.

Bill Holmes, a volunteer ranger at Brinkburn Pond, said recent improvements to make the area more accessible to the public were already having an effect.

He said: "A lot of people have come to take a look. We get people coming to feed the birds and to walk their dogs."

Gillan (OK) Wilson, who works with BTCV and is a leading local member of the Council for the Protection of Rural England, said: "The site is an oasis in the middle of urban Darlington."

* If you are interested in supporting the project, you can contact BTCV (01325) 369152.