FOUR otters were found dead on the roads in the Cotswold Water Park Trust last month, prompting pleas to motorists to drive with extra care.

The figure compares to just one dead otter found in the whole of 2015.

With darker winter evenings coinciding with rush hour, and otters seeking alternative routes when rivers are swollen, the likelihood of roadkill is higher than usual.

Drivers are being asked to take extra care when driving through the Cotswold Water Park between dusk and dawn.

The Cotswold Water Park Trust will be discussing with Gloucestershire and Wiltshire highways authorities about the potential installation of warning signs in certain hotspots.

Ben Welbourn, biodiversity and estates manager for the Cotswold Water Park Trust said: “It’s really good news that otters are now present across the whole Cotswold Water Park and the Upper Thames catchment, and the fact that they’re coming into contact with cars is perhaps a reflection of their growing numbers.

"However, given that a male otter can have a territory of up to 40km of watercourse, losing even just one on the roads can have a significant effect on the population.

"All otter carcasses are submitted to the long-running Otter Project at Cardiff University who carry out research into aquatic contaminants, disease, and population biology, so it is important to let either the trust or the Environment Agency know if you see one.

"These carcasses are frozen and stored locally before submission to the project, and with the increase in numbers, the trust is struggling for freezer space, so if you’re thinking of replacing your chest freezer in the near future and want to get rid of your old one to a worthy cause then please give us a ring.”