OTTERS who are usually nocturnal are surprising walkers by coming out during the day.

Steven Springett managed to capture an otter on his camera whilst by the River Colne on New Year’s Day.

He said he had never seen an otter in the wild before.

He said: "I wasn’t sure it actually was an otter at first. But there he was on New Year’s morning making quite a day of it.

“I was in view for about an hour so I was quite surprised and to catch it on camera was a bit of a triumph.

“I didn’t think he would stay there for that long given the amount of attention he was getting.”

Darren Tansley, from the Essex Wildlife Trust, said they have recovered very well since they became extinct in the early eighties.

He said: “By 1991 we had our first otter back in the river and they have been established properly over the last 15 years.

“They are being spotted more during the day although they are usually nocturnal, so people don’t realise they are there.

“They have made a good natural recovery and have expanded from Suffolk.”

He said within the six-mile stretch along the river Colne the number of otters will be a low double figure.

The population of otters in Essex is high, although there have been a number of deaths each year.

On December 23 an otter was found dead on Clingoe Hill after it was hit by a car.

Mr Tansley said about a dozen are found dead in a year when the water levels are high, as they cannot swim under bridges and have to use the roads.