Hedgerow highway will keep dormice thriving in the Yorkshire Dales

Project is part of national plan to help the endangered species prosper after numbers plunge by half

For the first time in 100 years, dormice have the freedom to roam among the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales, thanks to a project to restore their delicate natural habitat.

Landowners and farmers in Wensleydale have grown a six-mile continuous stretch of woodland and hedgerows to provide a highway to join up two fledgeling populations of the charming native mammals.