LOTTERY cash is helping 72 green schemes in Yorkshire and Humberside.

Among them is the River Colne Project.

The Lottery Fund has given £11.3m to the region over the past 10 years.

The cash has been used to safeguard a variety of creatures, including such birds as the golden plover and dark-bellied Brent goose.

The River Colne Project employed an official to link up with local people, schools and land- owners in a bid to conserve the environment.

The Lottery gave £137,400 to the project in two instalments, in 2000 and 2003.

Improvements include tree-planting, clearing weeds, improving footpaths and creating sculptures.

Fiona Spiers, of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "Few people realise that every lottery ticket has the potential to save the UK's landscapes, countryside and creatures.

"Bats are as important to our heritage as a Botticelli painting," she added.