AN urgent search has been launched for a team of lollipop ladies and men prepared to spend a few evenings on some life-saving work.

But far from standing outside schools, they are needed deep in the countryside - saving amorous toads from being crushed on the roads.

Every spring, hundreds of the amphibians are squashed on the road as they converge on Cod Beck Reservoir, on the North York Moors near Osmotherly.

Now the national park has joined up with the National Trust and local wildlife enthusiasts in an attempt to bring an end to the annual slaughter.

They plan to prevent the massacre by recruiting volunteers to form a toad crossing patrol for those evenings when most of the creatures try to cross.

Zo Frank, the trust's warden at Scarth Wood Moor, said: "Toads need clean, open water such as ponds and lakes to lay their eggs.

"They spend most of the year on relatively dry land, like the marshes close to Cod Beck, but each spring they return in droves to the ponds, or in this case the reservoir, of their birth to breed."

National Park ecologist Rona Charles said: "Frequently, they have to cross roads to get to the water and this is where the problems start.

"Major toad breeding sites, such as Cod Beck Reservoir, are becoming rarer and so it is more important than ever to make sure they can reach it safely."

Would-be members of the toad crossing patrols who want to find out more, are being invited to attend an open evening at the Queen Catherine Hotel, in West End, Osmotherley, on February 26, between 7pm and 9pm.

Alternatively they can ring Rona on (01439) 770657 or Zo on (01751) 460396.