THEY are the grassroots environmentalists tasked with helping to save Scotland’s diminishing population of toads. 

Volunteers are collecting thousands of the amphibians and frogs in buckets and placing them near rivers in an attempt to save them from cars and trucks thundering along Scotland’s roads.

Dozens of new “toad patrols” are being set up to help the amphibians avoid being squashed flat as numbers decline. It is estimated 20 tonnes of toads a year are crushed by cars and lorries as they try to reach their breeding sites around the UK. But experts say the patrols’ efforts are saving about 80,000 toads annually. 

This time of year is the toad patrols’ busiest as the amphibians begin to mate and lay their spawn. 

In Callander, 15 miles north-west of Stirling, Katy Anderson and her eight-year-old daughter Alixe are armed with orange buckets into which they hope to place toads, frogs and even newts before depositing them near the River Teith, below the busy A84.

Ms Anderson said: “I do it because I love amphibians and I think they are really suffering at the moment and we need to do all we can to help them.” 

Ms Anderson says the reasons for decline could be varied, from declining insect populations and climate change that means warmer winters disturb their hibernation to “a lot of them getting squashed on roads”.

Alixe has a more simplistic outlook. 

“I just love animals," she said. "I think it is really good to help the toads and frogs to keep alive their species and help them cross the road.”

Headtorches, high-visibility vests and buckets are the vital equipment needed.

The patrollers also put up signs warning of “toads crossing” at dusk when the amphibians are most likely to be on the move.

The animals are collected from driveways, grass verges and even rescued from the middle of the road before being placed on the riverside where they are safe to spawn. 

Common toads are in particular danger as they return to ancestral breeding ponds each spring, even if a road has been built in the way. 

John Snodin is a member of the Scottish Wildlife Trust and patrol manager in Callander, one of 37 groups registered with the charity Froglife in Scotland.

He said they can collect about 200 amphibians a year but that number is down from about 500 a decade ago.

Mr Snodin added: “It is like a lot of species; they need looking after to some extent. Everything is reducing in numbers, and amphibians are no different.”

But not everyone sees it in quite the same way.

Mr Snodin said: “We had a bit of an incident with one of my colleagues last year and someone started shouting at him to “go away” (from the front of a hotel). 

“I think he thought we were trying to pinch stuff – but we were walking around with hi-vis and torches.” 

Froglife co-ordinates the patrols. A spokesman said about 25 to 30 new patrols are set up each year. 

He added: “Common toads are in decline in part due to increased habitat loss and fragmentation. Toad patrols are vital in helping adult common toads to cross roads to reach their breeding sites each year. 

“Without toad patrollers, Froglife estimates there would be more than 80,000 toads killed on roads each year.”