Otters 'signify clean water quality'

The appearance of otters living and breeding in the Tees Valley is a sign of high water quality in local rivers, according to the Wildlife Trust.

Kenny Crooks, who works for the organisation, said that the creatures are symptomatic of clean waterways because otters refuse to travel through dirty water.

His comments follow the work undertaken by a team of 20 volunteers from the Environment Agency and the Tees Valley arm of the Wildlife Trust -which is one of 47 local branches across the whole of the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney - who constructed a home for the otters in an unidentified location earlier this week.

"Otters usually build holts under the roots of old riverbank trees but many roots and trees have been removed to improve the flow of rivers and reduce the risk of floods," stated Mr Crooks.

He added that the "des res" built by the helpers may be used for mating and rearing offspring.

Written by Lauren Steadman