With drought conditions applying in the South East, it was a relief to enjoy some rainfall.

However, much more is needed and 'February-fill-dyke', an ancient country term, did not live up to its reputation.

When strolling by the Thames at Kingston recently I noticed that the river was barely flowing at all, leaving the margins quite full of stagnant water and debris in places.

Local rivers and water courses such as the Wandle and Beverley brook rely mainly on treated water from sewage farms but lacking additional genuine natural flow, oxygen levels remain somewhaht low which does not augur well for fish stocks especially trout and other life within the streams.

With the water table so low, many ponds and lakes are barely half full and some may dry up completely if rainfall remains low for the next couple of months.

Rain stimulates frogs to begin spawning, the fresh water and oxygen sending them into a 'froggy frenzy'!

When the local common was flooded in places a few years ago, I spent some time filling buckets with frogspawn and transferring it to nearby ponds as to have left it would have meant the stranding of emerging tadpoles as the puddles dried out.

In their anxiety to spawn, I once found some in an upturned dustbin lid which had blown off in a gale in my garden.