Volunteers prepared for spawning toads

VOLUNTEERS from Henley Toad Patrol have built a temporary barrier along the A4155 from Henley to Marlow to prevent migrating toads from crossing the busy road.

The barrier was built on Saturday morning and extends 489m from Oaken Grove Wood to the Henley Showground.

The volunteers drove wooden stakes into the ground and attached plastic sheeting to it.

Toads, frogs and smooth newts that live in the wood and will soon be making their annual migration to their spawning ponds in the grounds of Henley Business School on the opposite side of the road will be stopped by the sheeting.

Every evening from now until early April, volunteers will check the barrier for amphibians and carry them safely across the road to the ponds in buckets.

Henley Toad Patrol was founded in 1999 by Professor John Sumpter and Alan Parfitt. Since then, volunteers have carried 131,000 toads across the road at an average of 5,511 per year. Last year, the total was more than 5,600.

Organiser Angelina Jones, 57, from Henley, said: “Maintaining the population is the sole objective. This is only made possible by the dedicated volunteers and the Culden Faw Estate which kindly allows access during the whole of the migration period.”