THE Westcountry's threatened otter population is on the road to recovery, a conservation charity has suggested.

The People's Trust for Endangered Species has published an annual survey recording the public's observation of mammals in the urban environment.

It found that improved water quality and fish stocks were underpinning an increase in sightings of otters in towns and cities in every English county.

The otter population, traditionally strong and internationally important in the Westcountry, had dropped considerably in recent decades because of pollution and hunting.

The now-growing otter population is thought to be having a knock-on effect on the number of American mink spotted.

American mink arrived in Britain in the 1920s and spread quickly, impacting most on native water voles.

Mink numbers have been stable since the mid-1980s but have shown recent decline in some areas, including Devon and Cornwall.

The People's Trust for Endangered Species survey provided only two sightings of mink last year.

The survey also found badgers were more abundant in the South West, with their presence seen in one-third of sites compared with a fifth of sites in the South East.

The conservation charity is asking members of the public to keep an eye on mammals in the green spaces around their homes and places of work as part of this year's survey. The environmental inventory starts in April and requires participants to monitor mammals on their doorsteps over an eight-week period.

Surveys officer Dave Wembridge said: "The data from Living with Mammals continues to demonstrate that urban sites provide important habitats for encouraging greater biodiversity.

"Considering that gardens make up between a third and a half of the green space in urban areas, their significance for wildlife and biodiversity is clear.

"People with access to gardens can take simple steps to help support urban mammals, as well as birds and insects, by providing a range of easy, low-maintenance microhabitats such as compost heaps, log piles and ponds which will support invertebrates, and offer nesting and hibernation sites."