WHAT was once a sluggish, silted and overgrown stream has been transformed into a gushing torrent thanks to the hard work of a conservation team.

Forty years ago Aughton Beck, near Hornby, acted as a fertile nursery area for young fish before it joined the flow of the River Lune.

But since the great floods of the 1960s the course of the stream became blocked with waste material and silt and, instead of joining the Lune, the beck ended its course in a muddy field.

Now thanks to the work of a conservation organisation, The Lune Habitat Group, the stream has changed from a muddy mire into a haven for fish and wildlife of all sorts.

Secretary of the group Chris Littlefield said: "It is was an excellent bio diversity project and it is going to help the breeding of migratory fish. There is already some evidence of water vole."

At the invitation of the landowner, and following a consultation with the Environment Agency, the organisation took on the task of reconnecting the tributary to its parent river.

The Environment Agency, water giant United Utilities and the local landowner contributed towards the total cost of the project.

The original course of the beck was excavated, and willows and debris removed leaving a clear junction with the Lune and a potential open door for sea trout next year. Fencing is also to be put up to enclose a swathe of land around the beck creating a wetland wilderness to protect the local otter and water vole population.

"The natural regeneration of the site has been rapid and, although winter wet weather caused delays by April, all evidence of our excavations had disappeared under a blanket of fresh vegetation," said Mr Littlefield.

"It's amazing what seeds lie dormant in the soil waiting for the opportunity to sprout, once grazing stock have been excluded by fencing," he added.

The wetland site adjoins an area of woodland and there is already evidence that migratory fish are returning to the beck for spawning. Deer have also been seen entering the wetland.

The Lune Habitat group is still on the lookout for new members. For more information, call Chris Littlefield on 015242-22174.