An exclusive riverside pad will be created at a secret location along the Aire Valley to attract a new breed of visitors to the area.

One of Britain's best-loved animals, the otter, will be given a new lease of life thanks to a pupose-built lair - or holt - planned for the riverbank.

It is one of the first along the Aire Valley to be built from pipes leading to a hidden underground chamber.

The cosy home, which is one of the first of its kind in the region, will provide a safe haven for the loveable mammals to breed, say wildlife experts.

The holt is one of the first steps in a wider project between Bradford Council, the Environment Agency and conservation body Natural England to create long-term homes along the riverside for otters.

Elly Andison, a nature conservation officer for the Environment Agency, said: "The underground pipes and chambers are one of the first along the Aire Valley.

"What we are trying to do is create the right habitat so otters can travel along the coridor of the River Aire.

"The main problem facing them is developers are building new homes right up to the waters edge and there is no space for the otters to thrive.

"We have planted a lot of woodland along the riverside and this is the start of creating more habitats on the riverbank that they need to feed and survive."

She said otters were once a common sight along Yorkshire's riverbanks but because of an increase in pesticides causing water pollution and waste flowing from industrial mills, fish stocks have fallen.

This had a knock-on effect on the otter population, which declined rapidly from the 1950s.

However, there are now signs that otter numbers are again on the rise, with recent sightings along the River Aire and Wharfe.