The new habitat is ideal for wetland snipe birds

Five farmers have created 30 hectares of wetland at Dubwath near Keswick - about the size of 30 football pitches.

The new habitat has been created to ensure the future of wetland birds including lapwings, curlews and snipes.

Environmentalists, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and farmers joined forces to transform the land near Bassenthwaite Lake.

Work included installing sluices to raise water levels, re-profiling ditches to make them wader friendly and the creation of 15 new 'scrapes' - shallow areas where wading birds can feed.

Much brighter

The work was also carried out by the Environment Agency as part of the Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme.

As well as the work at Dubwath, there are ongoing plans to help re-wet the Holme Dub area near Abbey Town, as well as at Sandford and Ploughlands near Appleby.

Project Officer, Tonia Armer, is working with farmers to help stem the decline and boost the numbers of breeding wading birds in Cumbria, by helping farmers to restore or re-create wetland habitat on their farms.

She said: "Thanks to successful partnership working between land managers and conservation organisations, the future is much brighter for wetland birds in these important areas of Cumbria."