Floating spiders and insect-eating plants: leaky dams revive Dorset’s bogs

Porous dams in Purbeck are being used to rewet' the mires, bringing a richer landscape for flora and fauna

Leaky dams may not sound ideal but they are being used to great effect on dried-out marshland in the English West Country to produce fresh habitat for carnivorous plants and a spider that whizzes over the surface of water to grab prey.

Bales made out of heather and bunds constructed out of peaty soil and timber are being used to create porous dams on two mires, Agglestone and Greenlands, in Purbeck, Dorset.