Rescue mission launched in Buxton to save froglets trapped in road barriers

When Abigail Elvin re-opened her Buxton High Street-based clothing and accessories shop, The Closet, she did not expect to be using the face visors she had purchased for work to scoop froglets out of road barriers with.

But, on Friday, July 24, that was exactly what her and The Closet co-owner Beth were doing, with Abigail calling it her “best day at work ever”.

Abigail said: "We were working and there was a couple of guys outside in Hi-Vis on the High Street by the social distancing barriers and so we went out to see what they were doing.

“Apparently, they had had a report of trapped frogs in the water weighing down the barriers and they had to come all the way from Darley Dale to do a frog rescue, basically.

"They hadn't got much with them so we were running around the shop trying to find loads of little buckets to put the frogs in.

“Because the frogs were so tiny it was actually quite hard to sweep them up so we ended up using a face visor that we have been using to work.

“They had to do all the barriers across all the High Street and all the cars were stopping to see what was going on.

“Obviously there's not been a huge amount going on recently, so I think everyone was quite excited.”

There were 10 froglets and two baby toads in the barriers outside The Closet, with the possibility of more hidden in footpath barriers across Derbyshire.

But how did they get there?

Abigail said: “Ian, the landlord at the Queen's Head (opposite The Closet), said that when they brought them a farmer filled them with water to weigh them down so the froglets must have been tipped in as frogspawn.

"Apparently they are all around Derbyshire, in New Mills, wherever they have widened the footpath.

"The team has had to go and check everywhere to see if there are any more trapped.”

However, Derbyshire County Council dispelled this theory.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “The barriers were filled with water from a nearby pond.

"As soon as we heard that we had filled the barriers with more than water we went back and reunited the frogs with their relatives back in their pond.”

Fortunately, Abigail's brother Tony was also able to re-home some of the young frogs at his house on Corbar Road.

She added: "I am a huge frog fan so It was my best day at work ever, it was really exciting.

“My brother has a pond in his garden so he has taken them all home and put them in his pond, so they are living happily ever after and I am pleased they are safe.”

For more on this ‘unfrogettable’ day, visit The Closet Facebook page here.