Many people still think that all mammals hibernate in the winter.

The truth is very few do. Squirrels, mice, voles and shrews do not.

Hedgehogs, bats and dormice do hibernate but that is all.

One of my favourite small mammals is the common shrew which is an aggressive little blighter.

If shrews were boxers they would be unbeatable!

They have sharp teeth and poison glands which tranquilise earthworms once they have been bitten. The shrew can then eat its prey in peace.

The common shrew is only just over two and a half inches (7cm) long and is found all over East Lancashire. The old-time naturalists said that the shrews were subject to an autumn epidemic and if this disease spread to humans we would die in our thousands. This led to what was called The Shrew Ash remedy.

This involved catching a live shrew (not easy) and sealing it up into the hollow of an ash tree.

To keep the epidemic away from humans a magic rhyme was chanted and all was well!

It does seem to be a shame to be so cruel, but in those far off days people had much less respect for wildlife than today.

Conservation is now a major part of our lifestyle.