Ladybird spiders and puffins are among 80 animals at risk of extinction identified by conservation charities after Government biodiversity spending was cut almost in half in three years.

The RSPB and Buglife have criticised Defra after the funding for the department as a whole was increased by 11 per cent but biodiversity investment was slashed.

The charities have called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to "save our most iconic and most loved species from extinction" by putting more funding into saving their habitats.

A Treasury document has revealed that funding to protect UK species has declined every year, going from 598m in the 2015-16 financial year to 338m in 2018-19.

Buglife has identified eleven insects which are at direct risk of dying out if habitat situations do not improve. If these bugs die out, their predators such as birds and small mammals will be impacted and may also become at risk.

Most of the birds on the RSPB’s Red List, which includes turtle doves, merlins, woodcocks, house sparrows and puffins, are under threat because of the reduction of their habitats and a lessening of their food sources.