A college has begun a project to stave off the extinction of a critically endangered species of mollusc.

The glutinous snail has disappeared almost entirely in Britain and can now only be found at Lake Bala in Wales.

A team from York’s Askham Bryan College have transported a number of the 1.5cm gastropods to a campus wildlife area, in an attempt to breed them.

If the scheme works, the college will create a dedicated glutinous snail reserve open to the public.