A new population of dormice has been discovered on West Green Common in Hartley Wintney.
Youngsters from Fleet Wildlife Watch were the first to uncover the species, which have never been recorded on the site.
The group’s first official record was of an adult dormouse discovered snoozing in a newly coppiced Hazel tree.
Hart District Council spokesman, John Walton, said the countryside rangers were chuffed at finding the protected species. He said: “This is the first record of hazel dormice using the site, and Hart’s countryside rangers are overjoyed. The Wildlife Watch group put out the nesting tubes last autumn to see if they could find any dormice and they are hoping that over the next few months more will be discovered using the tubes.”
The discovery has been the result of a 10-year scheme to bringa Hazel tree coppice cycle back to the common, with the plans extended across the whole common.
