The water vole population was decimated by American mink which were brought to the UK by fur farmers.

“Charismatic” water voles have returned to local waterways for the first time in 20 years.

The reintroduction, led by the West of England Nature Partnership (WENP), in collaboration with Bristol Zoological Society, has seen the mammals re-establish along the Severn Shoreline Levels and Moors, of North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

Their population was devastated by non-native American mink, which were brought to the UK for their fur.