WILDLIFE enthusiasts can catch a glimpse of one of Britain's most elusive nocturnal animals - all from the comfort of their own armchair.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the Glen Rothay Hotel and Badger Bar, at Rydal, near Ambleside, have teamed up to bring an exciting spectacle to people across the world.

The Lake District hotel has been the place to go for locals and tourists to see badgers feeding at dusk for many years, but now the wonderful sight of badgers can be watched on live webcams.

In the grounds of the bar and restaurant lives a colony of wild badgers, and the hotel's Badger Bar and Restaurant stream the live web cam every day.

At dusk, the bar staff feed scraps to the badgers and that's the best time to watch for them.

Paul Knowles from Glen Rothay Hotel and Badger Bar says: β€œIn the grounds live a colony of badgers, and we feed them every night at dusk. You can get quite close and take photos. In summer quite a big group can emerge but just in case you miss them, there is a stuffed one in the bar! There are only a few emerging so far this year, the most we have seen is five, and they are coming irregularly, sometimes right on 9pm but often much later. A fox or two has sneaked in for a free feed, and a hawk was there recently as well.”

Visit www.theglenrothay.co.uk and www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk.

Staff from Cumbria Wildlife Trust will also be at the bar and restaurant to tell people all about badgers from 7pm on Thursday May 19, Thursday June 16, Thursday July 14, Thursday September 15 and Thursday October 13.