Lizards hibernating in wall smothered by clay

ABOUT 50 lizards hibernating in crevices in a wall were smothered in clay and killed by council workmen carrying out emergency repairs in a conservation area, it was claimed yesterday.

The local council, which owns the Pilley Nature Reserve at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, sent in workmen to prevent a house collapsing down a crumbling precipice.

John Yeend, one of the volunteer conservation workers, said that the workers shored up an embankment beneath the house but were careless about where they applied the clay. 'Someone at the council should get a rocket for this,' he added.

The council's chief recreation officer, Ken Almond, said the engineers' main concern had been to prevent a major landslide.