Newts and other wildlife could get a helping hand to cross the A11, via a new green bridge designed to get creatures to important habitats.

An existing pedestrian bridge near Wymondham, which connects Rightup Lane to Burnthouse Lane, could be turned into a 'green bridge' - planted with trees and vegetation to encourage wildlife to use it.

Exploration of whether such a bridge could be feasible is one of three Norfolk projects which will be funded by almost £300,000 from a £6m pot created by wildlife trusts and National Highways.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust is to use the money - part of a new scheme called Network for Nature - to look into investigating the potential of the bridge.

The bridge, which would still be accessible to the pedestrians, would link two County Wildlife Sites - Silfield Newt Reserve and The Lizard at Wymondham.

Experts say the bridge would give small mammals, amphibians and reptiles - including mice, voles, foxes, newts and badgers - the ability to move through the countryside and thrive further afield.

A second project would see Silfield Newt Reserve restored and enhanced.

That reserve was created as a new home for an important population of great crested newts, displaced when the A11 was dualled.

The third project is at Norfolk Wildlife Trust's East Winch Common.

The project will explore how traffic on the nearby A47 might be affecting wildlife at the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

By studying how water movement and pollution from vehicles might be affecting the site, naturalists will learn how to create a better place for wildlife.

Matt Jones, Norfolk Wildlife Trust's living landscape officer, said: “We live in one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, and Norfolk’s wildlife is in trouble.

“There are some very special places for wildlife located alongside our major road network.

"We are looking forward to supporting an array of species through our work with National Highways, ranging from bats and small mammals to dragonflies and other invertebrates.

"The improvements will provide vital stepping stones in the landscape to enable wildlife to move between nearby areas of habitat.”

Green bridges already exist on other sections of the A11 and on the Norwich Northern Distributor Road.


Why do newts matter?

Great crested newts are now legally protected, having suffered a massive decline which has left them threatened.

They are the UK's largest and rarest newt and their populations are internationally important.

It is illegal to catch, possess or handle great crested newts without a licence or to cause them any harm or disturb their habitat in any way.

The almost black amphibians breed in ponds during the spring and spend most of the rest of the year feeding on invertebrates in woodland, hedgerows, marshes and grassland.

They hibernate underground, among tree roots and in old walls.