Nearly 60 great crested newts are settling into a new home after they were moved from the site of a visitor centre and car park to serve a nature reserve.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs found the amphibians as well as more than 800 common toads, ten common frogs and several small mammals on top of the cliffs when they checked the redevelopment site before workmen moved in.

Volunteers and staff trapped the newts and moved them to a different part of the reserve where they will be safe.

Keith Clarkson, site manager, said: “As a conservation organisation, the RSPB protects more than birds: we care about the welfare of all wildlife. So it’s extremely important to us to ensure the great crested newts – and the other menagerie of wildlife we’ve uncovered – is well looked after during and after redevelopment.”