How did millions of toads cross the roads?

You've probably heard of PAW Patrol...but how about toad patrol?

For the past fifty years, thousands of volunteers have been helping the amphibians cross roads up and down the country.

In fact, according to the charity Froglife, two million toads have now been safely guided across Great Britain.

But why do the little creatures need our help? Keep reading to find out, and discover some top toad facts too.

As the weather starts to warm up in the UK, toads across the country begin to make their way from the woodlands, back to ponds to breed during the spring months.

They follow the same route every year and most make their journey over March and April.

But, their journeys can be rather dangerous if they have to get across busy roads.

There are some places that close roads to help keep the amphibians safe, but other places have volunteers carrying out 'Toad Patrols'.

That's where volunteers help them across the road with buckets and nets.

According to the charity Froglife, the work of these volunteers is needed more than ever - with numbers of the common toad in Britain down more than 41% over the past 40 years.

However, there is good news for the amphibians too.

Last year saw a record number of volunteer Toad Patrols in Great Britain.

In 2025, 280 toad patrols helped 156,227 toads, and the charity says they've seen a long-term increasing trend of more people saving more toads than ever before.

1. There are two native species of toad that can be found in the UK - the common toad and the natterjack toad.

2. British toads are usually larger than frogs and have dry, rough and bumpy skin.

3. They also have much shorter and less powerful legs than frogs, and therefore prefer to crawl around, rather than hop.

4. Both common toads and natterjack toads are mainly nocturnal - meaning they are most active at night.

5. Natterjack toads are known as the UK's loudest amphibian as their calls can be heard up to a mile away.