CONSERVATION volunteers aim to clear almost 500 metres of ditches in Ten Acre Wood, a nature reserve bordering Yeading Brook in Hayes.

The site is managed by London Wildlife Trust and is rich in wildlife species, such as dragonflies, great spotted woodpecker, kingfisher and deer.

With a grant of £25,000 from the Veolia Environmental Trust, work will restore a network of ditches that have become heavily overgrown with scrub and silted up.

Clearing them will encourage greater numbers of species to use the reserve, including bats and, hopefully, water vole, Britain's fastest declining wild mammal.

It will also make it easier for people to visit the nature reserve.

Tom Hayward, Reserves Manager with London Wildlife Trust, said: “Ten Acre Woods is a beautiful site, but we urgently need to remove the scrub and silt that is overwhelming the network of ditches.

“They drain the site but also support a range of wildlife, from small invertebrates to larger mammals which feed in and around the ditches.

“With luck, we will even see the return of water voles, which have suffered a huge population drop due to the destruction of suitable habitat and predation by American mink.”

Ten Acre Wood is open to the public all year.

During the winter months, hawthorn and blackthorn provide a rich source of berries for birds, making this reserve popular with birdwatchers.