Wildflowers have been planted along a section of a major Cumbrian road, as part of a Cumbria Wildlife Trust project to help support local bee populations.

A section of the A66 will soon be host to a healthy crop of wildflowers, part of the trust's "Get Cumbria Buzzing" project, which aims to both support bee populations and raise awareness of their importance to the ecosystem.

Project manager Tanya St. Pierre explained: “This will provide the best conditions for the wildflowers and grasses to take.

"We’ve added key species, including yellow rattle, sweet vernal grass, meadow buttercup and red clover.

"Whilst cuts are done throughout the year to ensure road safety and allow for routine maintenance of the highways, these sites will only be cut once a year from August onwards, and the grass removed.

"Our overall aim is create areas of species-rich grassland, amongst other habitats, along the A66 and A595, to help pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies to move freely across the landscape.”

The wildflower highway and Get Cumbria Buzzing project have been made possible thanks to support and funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Highways England.

Find out more here.