Farmland ponds were once a mainstay of the industrial revolution, used for cooling down agricultural machinery at harvest time, watering crops and even providing fish for locals.

But campaigns like ‘Dig for Victory’ in the Second World War led to thousands being filled-in, in the push to produce more food and intensify farming.

Now conservationists are joining forces with University College London (UCL) to restore at least 50 ponds in the hope of attracting back rare wildlife such as the great crested newt, and encouraging insects like bees, hoverflies, dragonflies and mayflies, which provide food for swallows and linnets.

The team is hopeful that seeds which have been buried in the mud for hundreds of years will start to germinate once they experience the warmth and light of their newly restored habitat, bringing back plants not seen since the Victorian era or earlier.