National Highways has promoted its work to restore the historic railway bridge at Horspath near Oxford - which was previously earmarked for demolition - as an example of collaborative working with the community.

But there is now considerable anger in the village after the structure was surrounded by unsightly palisade fencing, preventing animals using the dismantled railway to access a nearby nature reserve. One key reason for retaining the structure - which was the focus of a protest by residents in February - was its key role as part of the local wildlife corridor.

As a result, “panicked” deer have been running across the busy road below the bridge, threatening their own safety and that of road users.

National Highways was acting on a misguided request from the Parish Council, but the company really should have known better. The fact that people within NH and the council did not understand the consequences of their actions on wildlife serves only to underline the need for better education within these bodies.

Could we please ask you to invest five minutes of your time this weekend signing the petition set up by our campaign friends at Barcombe - where a bridge is under threat - which asks the Department for Transport to commission independent ecological audits of the dismantled railways affected by bridge infilling and demolition proposals. This is vital before any prejudicial work - such as that at Horspath - takes place.

https://www.change.org/protect-railway-wildlife-corridors

Many thanks for your ongoing support.