Students are looking to uncover the secrets of wildlife roaming the streets of Carlisle city centre.

Bird, bat and hedgehog boxes have been placed around the University of Cumbria campus at Fusehill Street to support rare species of wildlife.

Remotely operated camera traps have been set up to record the number of species present.

The project is the brainchild of zoology students Hannah Dover and Sophie Gibson.

Hannah said: "As part of the course here we’ve been hearing how wildlife that was once commonplace even in towns and cities is now in decline.

"By setting up this biodiversity project we hope to make a contribution to helping sustain the wildlife that remains and encourage it to flourish."

Sophie added: "The other benefit is it will mean we will be able monitor and identify wildlife within the grounds of the university for the duration of the course and hopefully pass on the information we glean to future zoology students to keep the project going and accurately chart changes in the years to come."

The project is already enjoying some early success.

A hedgehog was successfully filmed by a camera trap on the first day with two others also recorded in the weeks since the project began.

Zoology lecturer Dr Mic Mayhew said: "I set them a challenge to individually identify the hedgehogs by marking them and then setting camera traps to establish the population and territory size on campus.

"Nationally the species is in steep decline and need all the help they can get."

The management plan is set to continue into the future and will benefit iconic species like the swift whose population in the UK has dropped by almost 50 per cent in the last 20 years.

Development plans are already taking shape.

"We have already placed animal boxes around campus and are building a small pond next year," said Hannah.