Cameras in a Thames Water sewage treatment site have captured a range of furry residents lurking at the site at night.

Footage of obscure wildlife at the Thames Water Maple Lodge sewage treatment works in Rickmansworth has been caught by camera traps installed with night-vision technology.

Some of the most interesting four-legged habitants of the area include a fox, a badger and a Muntjac deer.

Ian Crump, a biodiversity field officer for Thames Water, said: “We captured footage of small and large mammals, birds both rare and quite common and the general comings and going of people and operations.

“For me, the best footage at Maple Lodge has to be the foxes. They love the sewage treatment works because they have got lots of tasty rats to eat!”

The cameras were installed in April 2019, with the intention to monitor the wide variety of wildlife which visits or resides at the Thames Water sites. All findings from the footage would help the water utility company make decisions on future operations, developments and enhancements at the site.

Other camera traps are in Thames Water sites including Slough, Reading and Bicester.

Thames Water has committed to increasing biodiversity by five per cent at its sites, including hundreds of species of birds, as part of the upcoming business plan for 2020 to 2025.

More than 100 Thames Water sites are open for members of the public, birdwatchers or anglers to enjoy, as well as five education centres where local schools can visit to learn more about the water lifecycle and the environment.