BELINDA the otter was the star guest at the launch of a scheme to bring wildlife back to Swindon's waterways.

The day after the Evening Advertiser revealed that otters had returned to the town for the first time in 50 years, the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust began its Water for Wildlife project at the Hreod Burna Brook. Belinda, an Asian small-clawed otter, lives at Beenie's World of Otters sanctuary in Frampton Mansell.

Thanks to efforts by Thames Water to eliminate dangerous pesticides from our rivers, Swindon is becoming a haven for river-based wildlife.

The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust wants individuals, schools and businesses to get involved in cleaning up rivers and wetlands.

Robert Bimmer, eight, a Moredon Junior School pupil, said: "I think the otter is incredible. The way it ate fish so fast was amazing. I was really impressed."

The Cotswold Water Park is also looking for volunteers to help arrest the sharp decline of the water vole and aid the recovery of the otter by monitoring the numbers of the creatures in various locations.

The park is holding a training workshop on June 14 at the Millennium Visitors Centre in the Keynes Country Park. For more information call (01285) 860186.

And to find out how you can support Water for Wildlife, call Jo Sayers on Swindon 526229.