The Smallbrook toad patrol group has urged Warminster Town Council to close Smallbrook Road for a month every year to save the toads, frogs and newts from being killed. Female toad crossing the road (Image: Smallbrook Toad Patrol)Scores of them end up being killed by vehicles using the lane and the local toad patrol volunteers say they cannot protect them all. A spokesperson for the group said: “The Smallbrook Toad Patrollers have added up the number of toads, frogs and newts saved this year. “Between April and October, the volunteers patrolled Smallbrook Road for 62 hours, moving amphibians in buckets to save them from being killed by traffic. “The patrollers rescued 797 male and 120 female toads as well as 144 frogs and 166 newts.”She added: “On Smallbrook Road, female toads are particularly threatened as there are far fewer females than males.

Source: The Times December 20, 2023 05:13 UTC