Toad patrol volunteer gets amphibian tattoo tribute

A toad patrol volunteer has paid tribute to her favourite amphibians by getting one permanently inked on her skin.

Milly Kennedy has been with the Henley Toad Patrol for seven years, helping them safely navigate the A4155 during migration season.

"It was kind of a homage to the toads that I've been carrying across the road," she said.

Mrs Kennedy said she liked to think the tattoo, which is about 4cm to 5cm wide on the inside of her right forearm, was a female toad "because she's slightly bigger".

She described volunteering as "very special" to her.

"It's something we do together as volunteers, helping the toads across the road, and I've got plenty of tattoos anyway."

Mrs Kennedy said she had been receiving "really positive" reactions form the patrol group and from her students at Henley College where she teaches public services.

She said there were "so many reasons" why volunteering was "a joy".

"The main one is the actual toads - they have zero defence mechanisms and they have to get across that road, so that they can spawn in the pond and we just want to make sure that they get across safely," she said.

Mrs Kennedy said the migration season was "due to start", but the temperature had to be above 7C (44.6F) in the evening for the toads to move.

She said: "They have been doing this journey for thousands of years from the woods to the pond... and we don't want them to get squished on the road, essentially.

"So it's just making sure conserving them, keeping them safe and getting them to their journey and back again when they're ready."

She said that, by comparison, frogs were "a bit more independent".

"But we do carry them across as well," she added.

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.