For many the thought of seeing a snake is enough to make them run a mile - but a new campaign is hoping to change all that.

The Snakes Need Friends project has been launched by an Ashingdon man, backed by various wildlife charities including Frog Life and the World Wildlife Fund.

The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness about snakes in Britain and the fact that only one variety is poisonous.

The only poisonous wild snake in this country is the adder. Slow worms and garden snakes can be mistaken for adders.

A poster has been produced that features snakes which can be found in the wild in the UK, which can be placed in doctors' surgeries and hospitals if anyone were to go in to be treated for a bite.

Environmentalist Jon Cranfield said: "Around this time of year people may come across nests of snakes and of course people think they are poisonous and kill them."

Serpent's delight - environmentalist Jon Cranfield shows the poster with the low-down on Britain's much-maligned snakes

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