Campaign of the week

Early April and it is carnage on Britain's highways - at least if you're a toad. At this time of year, frogs and toads come out of winter hibernation and make their way to ponds to breed.

But while frogs are doing well, their wartier, more sluggish cousins are suffering. Frogs are happy spawning in any old pond. Toads, on the other hand, are fussier, preferring, like salmon, to return to the water in which they were born - which causes problems if there is a road in the way. They tend to cross in the same place in numbers, explains Jacqueline Ward Dyer of the charity Froglife, which increases the chances of a car scoring a direct hit. But new roads and a rise in traffic do not help. "Research is showing that vehicles squishing toads is not giving them much of a future," she says, tongue in cheek.

Typical is a toad survey in Welton, two miles outside Daventry, Northamptonshire. Fifteen years ago, the village pond supported 500 common toads. This year, only 15 have been spotted crossing the road from nearby woodland. Fifteen live ones, that is. And over the past week, seven squashed toads have been scraped off the tarmac.

Froglife has registered 650 toad crossings across the country and wants the public to let them know of any more. Once a site is recognised, it is easier to get a "toad crossing" sign put up, warning motorists to take care. Some lucky toads might even get a tunnel.

· Details: 01733 558444; froglife.org