TV PRESENTER Iolo Williams has unveiled a new sculpture — created by a local artist — of a pine marten with its young at the Hafod Estate car park.

A popular starting point for visitors to the Devil’s Bridge area, more than 50 people gathered at the car park to celebrate the unveiling of the sculpture, which was created by Bont artist Grace Young-Monaghan.

The sculpture was unveiled by local naturalist and TV presenter Iolo Williams, with the midges failing to dampen enthusiasm.

The pine marten, which carries the title of Britain’s second rarest carnivore after the wildcat, is a native Welsh mammal on the verge of extinction.

But thanks to The Vincent Wildlife Trust’s Pine Marten Recovery Project, the population is on the way back, with at least five females giving birth this year.

“For me to come out and see pine martens being released here was incredibly emotional because we were finally doing something really positive about getting an animal back where it belongs in Wales,” said Mr Williams.

“To see pine martens here lifts my spirits no end and it is a massive thank you, a huge diolch yn fawr, to everyone involved.”

Thirty-nine pine martens have now been brought from Scotland and relocated in woodland owned by Natural Resources Wales, with up to 20 more animals being translocated to Wales this autumn.

This final total should result in a marten population that will become self-sustaining, and over time will spread to other forests of Wales and across the border into England.

Without this helping hand, it is likely that this native mammal would simply disappear from the Welsh landscape.

Natalie Buttriss, CEO of The Vincent Wildlife Trust, said: “We wanted to hold this event to thank people locally who have given us so much support and have been so enthusiastic about the project.

“This has been a really key aspect that has contributed to the project’s success so far.

This six-year project is the culmination of more than 30 years of pine marten research and survey work carried out by The Vincent Wildlife Trust: research that has given a clear picture of the causes of the pine marten’s decline and the requirements for its survival.

With no recent evidence of breeding or natural recovery, reinforcement of the existing population is the only way to restore a viable pine marten population in southern Britain.

More information about the pine marten is available on the project website: www.pine-marten-recovery-project.org.uk