A FARM in East Yorkshire has set up a team of “habitat heroes” to help save protected mammals.

The Co-operative Farm, in Goole, is one of six across the country which has pledged to improve the habitats, feeding and breeding grounds for species including otters, bats, red squirrels, and water voles.

The farm has linked with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT), who conducted a survey of nearby watercourses and found positive signs of water voles.

Essential ditch management and clearance programmes will now be staggered, to give water voles the opportunity to relocate before their homes are cleared, thereby improving their chance of survival.