More than 97% of meadows have been destroyed since the thirties, amid the intensification of agriculture, making the 238,000 hectares of road verges across the UK a vital habitat for pollinators.

Highways England have announced that all new major roads will have wild flower friendly verges that could boost the numbers of birds and bees.  Vibrant road verges will be created as standard on new roads over 300 miles in England, using low nutrient soils, which will be seeded with wildflowers, or left to grow naturally.

The government has pledged to build 4,000 miles of new road by 2025.