THEY are some of the most beautiful and fragile creatures in the country, and some of the most threatened.

But now they are to be given some much-needed help – thanks to a load of old rubbish.

North Yorkshire’s declining butterflies will benefit from a £233,774 grant generated by a tax on landfill sites.

It will be used to restore valuable habitats at 36 sites, covering about 40 hectares in total, on the North York Moors, in particular around Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside and Pickering.

The project will help boost the numbers of butterflies and also ensure their longterm survival alongside moths and other wildlife.

In particular, the project aims to boost numbers of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly, which have fallen by 52 per cent in recent years, and the pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly, which has declined by 61 per cent since the Seventies.

The Butterfly Conservation group applied for the funding from Wren, a not-for-profit business that awards grants from funds given by the Waste Recycling Group (WRG) and raised as part of an environmental tax credit scheme.

Dr Sam Ellis, from the Butterfly Conservation group, said the funding was critical to help support the long-term survival of precious habitats and rare species of butterfly.

He said: “The scale of the restoration project is such that we could not hope to achieve this without them.

“Landfill grants mean we can do this work on a scale big enough to make a real difference.”

Seven out of every ten species of butterfly is now in decline, and the plight of the Duke of Burgundy and the pearl-bordered fritillary are causing the most concern.

Over the next five years, Butterfly Conservation will employ contractors to clear land on the moors, mainly limestone grassland, to create the conditions needed for the recovery and, hopefully, growth of butterfly numbers.

Butterfly Conservation is an environmental charity formed in 1968 by a small group of enthusiasts as the decline in butterfly numbers began to become clear.

Mike Snell, from WRG, said the project would have a significant long-term impact and would help redress the biodiversity balance.