FOUR new ponds have been created in Dymock Woods by the Forestry Commission as part of the 'Million Ponds Project' co-ordinated by wildlife charity Pond Conservation.

It is expected the new ponds will support a wide range of rare and protected wildlife including the European protected great crested newt and a variety of dragonflies and damselflies.

The 1,200 acre woods, known locally for their wild daffodil displays in spring, are one of the best in the Forest for moths and dormice. But wetland species have suffered in recent years at Dymock as a result of the unauthorised introduction of non-native carp to the only standing lake in the woods.

Kate Wollen, Forestry Commission conservation ranger, says: "We created four new ponds across Dymock Woods in areas recently opened up through the removal of the non-native conifers.

"Within a few months of the ponds being built we found frogspawn in all four and in time as the ponds revegetate they will become home to a multitude of damselfly and dragonfly and hopefully the great crested newt."

Creation of the new ponds is part of a four-year programme co-financed by Biffaward, involving a range of partners and conservation organisations such as the Wildlife Trust and Plantlife among others.

Dr Pascale Nicolet, Pond Conservation's National Co-ordinator for the Million Ponds Project, explains: "These large pond complexes in forests provide some of the most valuable clean water habitats in the country.

Making new clean water ponds is one of the best ways of quickly and cost effectively improving the freshwater resource for wildlife."