Burnham-on-Crouch residents gave their lawnmowers a break in May as part of a national campaign to protect wildlife.

Plantlife's 'No Mow May' campaign aims to help bees, butterflies and other wildlife species by encouraging communities to put away their lawnmowers and allowing their gardens to grow.

An Arcadia Road resident getting straight to the point in their no mow garden! (Photo: Timothy Rigler)

Burnham-on-Crouch resident Jo Coombes said, ''We've lost around 97% of flower-rich meadows since the 1930's and with them the food needed by pollinators. 

"Leaving the garden to grow in May is a small step that most people can take towards helping the environment. In our garden, we see much more wildlife when we let the lawn grow. We now leave most of the garden wild all year round.

''There is more acreage in private gardens than nature reserves, so if we can encourage more people to leave space for wildlife that will have a big impact."

Another resident, Timothy Rigler, who manages his garden for biodiversity said: ''Wild gardening doesn't mean unmanaged; It means you have to be like a farmer and the mower is like your flock of sheep.''

Red Campion, a good source of food for bees, growing on Lilian Road. (Photo: Jo Coombes)

As well as residents playing their part in the initiative, Burnham Town Council also left an area at Willow Close to turn into a flower haven for bees. 

''Hopefully next year the Council will make it a town-wide initiative as 'No Mow May' is a good way to work towards carbon neutral targets,'' Jo added.

National charity, Plantlife calls for people to get involved with #NoMowMay every year, and let wild plants get a head start on the summer.

It offers advice and resources on how to get involved.  

You can find out more about Plantlife, here.