You don't have to travel far to find remarkable wildlife in the North-East, as the sightings of a small but rare creature on the edge of a housing estate proves. John Dean reports.

BY any stretch of the imagination it was a remarkable sighting of a creature so elusive that no-one really knows how many survive in the wild.

But what made the glimpse of the tiny water shrew paddling furiously across the corner of a lake even more notable was that it did not happen in a lazy rural backwater, but within metres of a housing estate, council tip and factories.

The sighting was the first ever recorded at Drinkfield Nature Reserve, in Whessoe Road, Darlington, and underlined the rich variety of urban wildlife across the North-East.

And you don't need to go to a council nature reserve to enjoy such experiences. Last year, two Darlington naturalists surveying grassland in the Barmpton area, on the northern edge of the town, were astonished to find a harvest mouse nest.

Harvest mice are battling for survival in Britain and the discovery was the first in Darlington for 20 years.

The sightings support a growing movement among naturalists to make people more aware of the wildlife wonders on their doorstep.

Darlington is not unique - in the towns and cities of the region endangered creatures are living out tough lives in the battle for survival.

Philip Roxby, Local Nature Reserves officer for Darlington Borough Council, is one of those working to educate people about the importance of such creatures.

He says: "Sightings like the water shrew and the harvest mice nest underline the variety of wildlife to be found in urban areas.

'Water shrew, for example, are so elusive and secretive that no-one knows what the numbers are like but we do know that, nationally, the population's decline is very disturbing. And yet we have one just metres away from a tip and not far from houses and a school in Darlington.

"To have it seen at Drinkfield illustrates the point that there are quality habitats in urban areas and if people only take a moment to look and listen there is the chance of seeing protected and rare animals."

Take the great-crested newt, for example. An endangered amphibian elsewhere, the creature thrives in the ponds and wetlands of Darlington.

Mr Roxby says: "Darlington is a stronghold for great-crested newt and the same can be said for the water vole, and yet both live close to people's homes."

On the brink of national extinction, the water vole can be seen on waterways all over Darlington borough, places like the Rockwell nature reserve, off Haughton Road, Cocker Beck, near Branksome, or the Whinnies at Middleton St George. Just listen for the distinctive 'plop' as the creature drops into the water.

Visitors to Drinkfield may also be lucky and spot creatures like the bizarre grasshopper warbler, a small bird which throws its voice to confuse predators, ducks down when spotted and scuttles off through the glass rather than flying away. Or the water rail bird, which in Mr Roxby's words "squeals like a pig".

Then there are the bats. Most bats which people see flitting about catching insects in their gardens on balmy summer nights are pipistrelles, but Drinkfield is one of the places for the less common noctule bat.

And wander over to South Park and you will see the water-loving Daubenton's Bat, which it is hoped will thrive on the improved lake where they used to make their home.

Also in the air are the birds. Darlington, for instance, not only has the common tawny owl but also the delightful Little Owl, sometimes to be seen perching on top of lamp-posts at dusk. And all towns have sparrowhawks and kestrels.

Then there are the insects. A good example can be enjoyed by visiting the wetlands behind the Brick Train sculpture, on the eastern edge of the town, at the right time of summer when visitors are rewarded with a rich variety of dragonflies and damselflies swooping low over the ponds.

And ranged along some of the town's smaller waterways are the black poplar, a tree endangered elsewhere but thriving thanks to a project to increase its numbers in Darlington. Look for a tree which leans so much it looks like it is about to topple over.

But human persecution is the downside for urban wildlife. Every year across towns like Darlington swan cygnets are killed, birds are shot, wildlife areas are littered with beer cans, toilet rolls and sweet wrappers and trees and plants are vandalised.

What Mr Roxby and others like him hope is that the growing awareness, particularly among children, of the need to preserve wildlife will help garner a growing respect for fellow creatures.

He says: "The point is that there are places in urban areas where people can see rare animals if only they take the time to look for them. These are special creatures living in the middle of town.

"We may not be able to see them without taking the time and effort but they can certainly see us."

And there is a commercial benefit. Mr Roxby says: "If people realise they have a chance of seeing such wildlife when they visit Darlington they may then find out how pleasant the rest of the town is."

The same theory is driving a bid to attract tourists to Tyneside after the reintroduction of red kites there last year.

But for all these creatures to survive, habitats need to be protected from blights like littering and vandalism.

Mr Roxby says: "What we are saying to people is that these creatures have not chosen to live in the countryside, they have chosen to live in towns and cities, and if they can live alongside us, we can live alongside them.

"We need people to support and respect wildlife to give the creatures the chance to maximise their chances of survival. If we can educate people about the importance of these creatures they will have a better understanding of their value."