OTTERS will soon have new homes thanks to volunteers who have created two holts on the River Wharfe, near Grassington.

The work is part of a project organised by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's Otters and Rivers Project and is part of a four year plan to help the tiny otter population expand.

Extra trees have already been planted and fences put up alongside the river, to prevent existing habitat from being destroyed by grazing animals.

Sylvia Jay, the trust's otters and rivers project officer, said: "By making artificial holts, there will be somewhere for them to lie during the daytime, perhaps even to breed in and raise families.

"It will link in with the bank-side tree planting and other habitat restoration work we have been doing with local landowners."

One of the holts is to be made from fallen trees and brashing, and the other from plastic pipes and bricks. However, although the holts are man-made, the otters have taken to them well in other areas in the past.

Pete Bowler, the trust's information officer, said: "We are creating habitats for them to breed successfully and then they can expand naturally wherever they want to go."

The holts will have bedding put in them when they are finished, and Mr Bowler said that they had tried to build them in quiet areas.

The holts work has also involved Yorkshire Water, the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, the Environment Agency and the National Trust.

John Heathcote, project manager of Yorkshire Water said: "I think the partnership between us is good. It has helped us with engineering and to be more sensitive to environmental issues."

And David Sharrod, project officer for the Millennium Trust, added: "We will fund other projects and we are very pleased to be helping conserve wildlife generally."

Within the next four years, the project hopes to build more holts and improve other bankside habitats.

It also liaises with many organisations, including local authorities and Government bodies, to encourage them to consider otters and other river wildlife in their work. It is also campaigning for cleaner rivers and wise use of water.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.