How you can give wildlife a helping hand this winter

IT WAS beginning to look a lot like winter earlier this week with some snow on the ground and plenty of ice underneath.

- ALAN WRIGHT

Myself and my Lakeland terrier, Alfie, were a bit like Torville and Dean after too many snowballs my Grannie used to give us this strange drink made from advocaat and lemonade.

It was my first experience of alcohol and I thought I was dead grown up drinking it.

Our village always looks pretty in the snow, and those gulls and duck looked chilled out resting on the edge of the ice, taking a freezing dip if necessary.

You will see plenty of puffed-up sparrows and robins hopping around your garden and on your park and country walks.

You garden bird table and bird feeders are really important now, with the ground freezing hard, there is a lot less food around.

So get that seed, fruit and fat balls out onto your tables and watch the wild show as the birds and some mammals come rushing in.