WE are extremely fortunate in Wyre Forest District to have a fantastic variety of high quality and accessible countryside.

Living in Kidderminster, we have some of the county's finest marshes and heathlands right on our doorsteps. Some householders have great expanses of these habitats that stretch out from the backs of their gardens. However, when man and wildlife come into close contact there are a few conflicts that need to be resolved. Mediating between these is one of the functions of the Ranger Service.

Conflicts come in a variety of forms, whether it be from garden cuttings damaging the reserve or vigorous reserve plant growth entering gardens. One particular conflict, which in the last few years has become increasingly important to deal with, is when some of the reserve animals choose to live or feed in people's gardens.

Many people enjoy the odd nocturnal wildlife visit or boast over the more exotic bird species that visit their bird table. However, one visitor is hardly ever welcome though, and that is such a pity. The visitor in question is the snake.

While Wyre Forest district does have a poisonous snake, the adder, it presents a threat on a par with that of a bumblebee. Despite this, when snakes make their way into gardens and homes of dwellings close to the reserves they can often cause a great deal of alarm and distress.

Many of them are man-handled, often resulting in them being injured or even killed. So if you find a snake in your garden don't panic, as it can't do you any harm. If left undisturbed, the chances are that it will leave under its own accord anyway. Sometimes though, the snakes get themselves into some difficulty or into inappropriate places. If this happens, the householder can call the Ranger Service and one of us will liberate the snake.

Recently, as part of our training, we attended a snake handling course. This was fantastic as we got to handle a large number of exotic snake species. Each had very different temperaments to simulate the variety of characters and sizes we are likely to find when dealing with our native snakes. Part of the course even involved having to remove a snake that had found its way into the workings of a fridge. Quite a challenge, I have to say!