A MULTI-MILLION pound project to lay a new gas pipeline had to take special measures to safeguard one of Britain's most strictly protected amphibians.

Transco has laid an £18 million pipeline from Easton Grey to Minety, which crossed land containing ponds inhabited by great crested newts.

The project started on April 5 and gas started flowing through the 48-inch diameter, 15.3km line on November 13 to meet Swindon's increasing need for gas.

Project manager Charlie Sirs said Transco was advised by environmentalists there was a high chance of great crested newts, the country's largest newt, whose population has declined in recent years, living along the chosen route.

"In any project we don't have to find anything, we just have to be aware there is a possibility that because of our operations, the great crested newt could be harmed in some way."

The engineers had to take precautionary measures near the ponds.

A total of 2.4km of tight wire mesh fencing was laid at six locations along the route.

Pots were also laid the other side of the fences so that if a newt got through, it could be recovered and returned to the pond.

Mr Sirs said an inspector checked the pots twice daily throughout the duration of the work. "In the course of the work we trapped one newt, which was one newt in return for an awful lot of money."

He said each landowner was told a fence had to be erected. Improvements were also made to ponds to remove silting and improve planting.

"There were also areas where we could not work until the area was newt free.

"We had to miss little bits out and go back to them later," added Mr Sirs.

Special measures were also taken to avoid disturbing badgers.

He said Transco had to adhere to strict foot and mouth precautions, including installing disinfectant areas and pressure cleaning the wheels of lorries.

In May, surveyors also stumbled across the remains of a Roman settlement while carrying out a geophysical survey along the route. The location was kept a secret to stop people damaging the find.

Archaeologists were able to date the settlement from the fragments of pottery they found in the area. A further geophysical scan of the area revealed the foundations of a villa.

The route of the pipeline was altered in order not to disturb any uncovered archaeological remains which could be excavated in the future.

Mr Sirs said the construction of the pipeline had had a positive knock-on effect in the local economy.

During construction, 286 men had been employed at the peak of the work in August.

"Apart from local people we employed, there were a lot of people who stayed in accommodation in the area," he said.

The pipeline is one of 20 high-pressure pipelines across the country, costing more than £350 million.

Lines are also being laid in the Weston-Super-Mare area and from St Austell, in Cornwall, to serve the south West.

Transco operates a 6,300km system across the UK, and the projects will result in an eight per cent increase in the length of the network.

The Minety pipeline was opened by North Wiltshire MP James Gray.