VOLUNTEERS for the county’s wildlife trust have returned to work for the first time in four months following the coronavirus lockdown.

The easing of restrictions has allowed practical conservation volunteers at Northumberland Wildlife Trust to get back to work at the charity’s Prestwick Carr reserve, near Ponteland.

The four-strong team, led by estates officer Duncan Hoyle, cut down a fast-growing plant known as creeping thistle.

Left unchecked, it can take over whole areas of land within two years, meaning it was a race against time to remove them before they developed flowers.

The work has been carried out at Prestwick Carr annually for several years, and the Wildlife Trust said the number of plants had definitely decreased.

Usually, groups visit the site to cover the field, but because of social distancing, volunteers were forced to manage with just four volunteers and one staff member - which will be the case for all the trust’s practical conservation tasks for the foreseeable future.

Speaking about the first task, Mr Hoyle said: “This was the first practical conservation task after lockdown restrictions were eased and the site was chosen as it is close to town for people to access easily.

“There is also a large field in which to park cars but usually the volunteers would meet at our headquarters in Gosforth and be driven to site as a group in a minibus, but with current restrictions on vehicle sharing this is not possible.

“The Prestwick Carr site is close to Newcastle Airport and we are often disturbed by the noise of planes landing and taking off.

“With the large decrease in the number of flights, we had a much more peaceful day than usual and could enjoy the songs of several skylarks which were calling nearby. What a way to celebrate coming out of lockdown.”

The trust added that the work was made possible thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.