UK NEWS

VILLAGE STRANDED BY RAMPANT BADGERS

Sunday October 14,2007

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A FAMILY of broody badgers has left a quaint village “under siege”.

The animals have built a sett under the community’s only road, causing it to collapse, and now concrete blocks have been put in place to prevent motorists driving over the damaged street.

But as badgers are legally protected, stranded villagers in Dargate, Kent, have to wait for the creatures to do what comes naturally before they can reopen what they dubbed the “road brock”. The animals are capable of shifting vast amounts of earth with their hefty claws to put a roof over their heads.

A pub landlord said his predecessor was virtually driven out by the badgers.

Malcolm MacGregor, who moved in to The Dove last Monday, said: “The previous owner said he was losing £2,000 a week because of the badgers.

“People used to like to drive out to The Dove but, with the road blocked, the business went down. It’s ridiculous. The village is under siege.”

Resident Mike Pearce said: “We’ve been told work to remove the sett can’t begin because it might interfere with the badgers’ sex lives. What’s more important – a lot of randy badgers or the life of the village? It’s crackers.”

Felix Krish, who lives next to the hole, says it is the fourth time the badgers have closed the road: “There’s a lot of cost involved and then the badgers just move further along the lane.”

Local authorities need a special licence from Natural England, the Govern-ment’s wildlife advisers, to remove the animals.

Kent Highways spokesman Phil Scrivener said drivers took down obstacles and drove on, even though they risked serious damage to their vehicles.

He said: “Cars were driving over the sett and that’s why the road collapsed.

“The road closure remains in place while we apply for the licence. “We’ve had to put concrete blocks across the road because idiots will insist on driving on it.”

Natural England said special “badger flaps” have been devised to solve the problem without killing any of the animals.

A spokesman said: “This is a one-way gate put across the entrance to a sett. It allows the badgers out but prevents them getting back in. Once they realise they can’t get back in they go elsewhere.”