Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) have released a new Wind In The Willows film "trailer" designed to highlight the degradation of British wildlife.

The campaign is being led by Sir David Attenborough, the president Emeritus of the Wildlife Trusts, and is supported by household names of British film and television who feature in the trailer.

The animated short stars Stephen Fry as Badger, Catherine Tate as Ratty, Alison Steadman as Mole and Asim Chaudhry as Toad.

The trailer shows these four main characters from Kenneth Grahame’s much-loved children's book react as the tranquil and green landscapes, suggesting scenery common throughout the UK are polluted and destroyed by the advance of industry and urbanization.

The four friends then resolve to act in defence of their natural environments — a response the Wildlife Trusts hopes to generate in those who watch the film.

Sarah Jane Chimbwandira, CEO of Surrey Wildlife Trust, said that the scenes in the trailer were reminiscent of the degradation of the flora and fauna in Surrey and urged residents concerned about these issues to take action.

Ms Chimbwandira said: "Many people move to Surrey because they love the convenience of commuting to work and living within a beautiful county, with leafy neighbourhoods, iconic woodland views from the Surrey Hills and peaceful riverside walks. Yet the pressure on Surrey’s nature means wildlife is in huge decline."

"If we want to put nature into recovery we have to create a mass movement of people calling for change in our county and across the UK.

"We can create strong laws to establish a Nature Recovery Network, which will enable a wilder future and help nature make a comeback."

Surrey Wildlife Trust say that two main factors — climate change and habitat loss — were to blame for the mass depletion of the natural world in Surrey and across the UK, and suggested ways residents who wanted to help protect the environment could do so.

SWT said: "The Wildlife Trusts hope The Wind in the Willows film trailer will inspire people to help nature by:

• Contacting politicians – to call for strong environmental laws which help nature recover.

• Walking in the pawprints of others — Be inspired to take action for wildlife in your garden or local area, working with friends, neighbours – or by getting your local council involved – to create new homes for Toad, Ratty, Badger and friends.

• Creating a Wilder Future where you live – by checking out the latest events and volunteering opportunities with Surrey Wildlife Trust at www.surreywildlifetrust.org.uk to discover 1 what a Wilder Future could look like – and the part everyone can play in making it happen."

Surrey is the UK’s most biologically-rich inland county in terms of recorded species

All four of the main animal characters in Wind In The Willows have faced serious threats to their survival since Kenneth Grahame’s novel was first published in 1908.

In particular, the water vole, embodied in the book by the Ratty character, is the UK's most rapidly declining mammal according to Surrey Wildlife Trust.

SWT said: "Despite intensive surveys in Surrey it is still unclear if any populations of water voles remain in the county. It is presumed extinct.

"Toad is also finding that times are very tough: he has lost nearly 70 per cent of his own kind in the last 30 years alone – and much more than that in the last century."

The Wildlife Trusts campaign is backed fervently by the cast.

Stephen Fry, who is also president of the Great Fen, Wildlife Trust Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire said: "I’ve acted in and narrated Wind in the Willows in the past but this version is different – it really, really matters...We all need to get behind The Wildlife Trusts, rise up and call for a wilder future – otherwise it’ll be too late to save Toad, Ratty and all the residents of the riverbank and beyond."

SWT are running a county-specific campaign under the #wildersurrey hashtag. For more information head to www.surreywildlifetrust.org