A BOLTON wildlife site is hoping its four-legged friends can help bring it support for a big May Day event.

Darcy Lever Gravel Pits is gearing up once again for its traditional Mayday Parade this coming bank holiday.

In the run up to the celebrations, organisers the Darcy Lever Gravel Pits Action Group (GPAG) is shining a spotlight on its wild residents.

The group has released a video filmed over the course of the last year showing off the different types of wildlife which have made a home in the site, including fox cubs, roe deer and tiny tadpoles.

It is hoped that the video will show the importance of the gravel pits to local wildlife and attract more supporters towards the work keeping it going.

GPAG member Chris Banks, from Breightmet, helped to create the video using trail cameras n land and GoPro to catch the action under one of the pit's many ponds.

He said: "When I was younger we lived almost on the site and I used to go down and explore, it is quite a personal place for me and close to my heart. There are 25 ponds in quite a small area. There's nowhere else in Bolton with this amount of ponds in close proximity, it makes an absolutely amazing wildlife haven.

"A lot of local people are not aware of who it has changed, it has been completely redeveloped and, as far as I'm concerned, is one of the best places in Bolton.

"It is all cared for completely by volunteers, who work in partnership with Bolton Council. It's a difficult task but we do what we can. The more people who know about the place and the more who volunteer can help protect it, raise funds and put it on the map."

The gravel pits belong to Bolton Council and is part of Moses Gate Country Park, beginning life more than 40 years ago with gravel being extracted for the construction of St Peter's Way.

GPAG was formed in 2003 and manages the 27 acre site which is home to woodlands and ponds which attract a number of wildlife.

The annual Mayday Parade will start at the Lever Arms in Radcliffe Road, Darcy Lever, at 12.30pm down to the site, and visitors on the day can enjoy a bouncy castle, face painting, pond dipping, wildlife exhibition, feed the frog and dragons egg hunt.

Donations made on the day will go towards the continued maintenance of the Darcy Lever Gravel Pits.

Mr Banks also plans to produce more videos showcasing the site and the wildlife - including its many species of dragonfly - across the different seasons.

To find out more visit the 'Darcy Lever Gravel Pits Action Group - GPAG' Facebook page, or www.gravelpitsactiongroup.com.