Diggers have begun work on a scheme to restore hundreds of acres of fen wetlands to create and connect a vast area of habitat for wildlife.

It is hoped the project across 136 hectares (336 acres) on former arable land at Speechly’s Farm, in Cambridgeshire, will become home to lapwings, snipe and cranes, water voles and “species nobody sees” such as rare water beetles.

The scheme by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (BCN) also includes two large fields of “wet farming” or paludiculture, covering 6.5 hectares (16 acres) and growing typha, bulrush, which can be used for everything from puffer jackets to insulation boards.