Philippa goes on toad patrol

• 11 Mar 2008
• Tags: Common Toad, Lost in transit,
• Species: Common Toad

Each year thousands of Toads are killed on British roads while migrating to their ancestral breeding grounds. But, fortunately, help is at hand.

Across the UK, reptile and amphibian groups have joined forces to set up and support Toad Patrols. Hear Phillipa's experience when she set out with one of them on a wet and warm Saturday night.

User comments

Tim Stahl
I'm involved with a preserved Victorian waterworks in Darlington (Tees Cottage Pumping Station). The water treatment tanks (12 feet deep, the top level with the ground) used to be a prolific breeding ground for toads in the early years of preservation (1980-88). Before preservation, only a small amount of water remained in the tanks, and so, if they traditionally came to breed there, they would presumably die in the effort as neither they nor the youngsters would have been able to get out. Once we started pumping water again, they bred prolifically. They relied on our July steaming, when the tank filled, to escape from the tank - with help from members. Over the course of two days, many thousands would be sent on the short trip to the river bank.When the tanks were refurbished in 1988, we built special ramps for the youngsters to climb. All seemed sorted. But then the algae problem struck our waterways, ponds and lakes, and we were forced to drain the tanks when we were not actually pumping water - a situation which persists to this day. Part of the problem is the addition of phosphate to the water supply. This is done to stabilise lead in the small amount of remaining lead pipes. Unfortunately, it also encourages the algae. So now, our previously successful and safe breeding station is no more.Tim Stahl, Tees Cottage Pumping Station Preservation Society LOCATION: 55.833302,-4.250000 DATE: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:59:45 UTC

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