A RARE badger cub found wandering on a stretch of road which has been dubbed notoriously dangerous by wildlife experts has been nursed back to health.

The young badger, christened 'Gertie' by Bradford Council's dedicated countryside staff, was found on part of the Addingham by-pass when she was just under 12 weeks old.

And Peter Britton, the council's countryside officer, said ten badgers had been killed on the Addingham by-pass in the last 12-15 months.

He said: "It's very difficult to find orphaned cubs usually. The Ilkley to Addingham road kills more badgers than all the rest of the roads in Bradford put together. People in Addingham and Ilkley apparently take great delight in squashing badgers."

Gertie was poorly and undernourished when she was found in May, and was treated for three different types of parasites and fed on a high protein diet. And during the last

couple of months, Mr Britton has been striving to keep contact with Gertie to an absolute minimum so that she can be re-released into the wild.

He added: "We have got a fox cub, and Gertie lives with the fox. It gives her companionship, it stimulates and gets her to feed and gives her competition for food."

But Gertie is certainly on top form - and will soon be released back into the wild - in tune with the council's policy of releasing animals exactly where they were found.

Mr Britton added: "She would have your fingers off if you were stroking her. She is completely and utterly wild now, and she is absolutely beautiful.

"She is the perfect specimen, with all the mannerisms and colourations that you would expect."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.