BUTTERFLIES are booming in Bolton, thanks to the sunny weather.

Normally, over the course of a year, around 3,000 of the insects are reared at Animal World, Moss Bank Farm.

But staff at the park say they are astonished after they reached that figure in just a few weeks. They are putting the sudden population boom because of the warm weather.

Wildlife enthusiasts may even be able to spot some of the butterflies around the town as the park has now released many of them back into the wild.

Mark Lightowler, a supervisor at the park, said: "The butterflies seem to be really enjoying the weather, they are absoultely thriving. This really is a bumper year"