Endangered rodents, birds and butterflies will be among the species benefitting from the investment.

Beavers, endangered butterflies and birds will be among the species to benefit from a £1.28m government grant.

The money has been awarded to the Kent Wildlife Trust, through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme, backed by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

It will be spent on projects on the River Stour, with Kent the home to England’s largest population of wild beavers, and ancient woodland at the Blean, near Canterbury.