South Yorkshire could see the first wild release of beavers in the region after the government said they would allow a number to roam free.

Beavers are native to the UK, but were hunted to extinction in the 16th century for their fur and scent glands.

In the past 20 years they have made a come back in many rivers including licensed enclosures like Cropton Forest in North Yorkshire, and through illegal releases.

Two years ago Sheffield Council was awarded £96,725 to look at the possibility of reintroducing beavers at sites across South Yorkshire.

A beaver makes it's way to the water after a licensed release of beavers at Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve. Photo credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

placeholder image — A beaver makes it's way to the water after a licensed release of beavers at Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve. Photo credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

A long list of 20, including Blacka Moor, 181 hectares of moorland, woodland and bog, on the edge of Sheffield, will be evaluated by consultants.

It came after former Wakefield MP Nature Minister Mary Creagh helped release the first beavers into the wild by a large lake in a nature reserve in Purbeck in Devon last week.

The government says it will consider more applications, but they will have to be carefully planned over a 10-year period to avoid negative effects on farming, food production, and infrastructure.

Grants would be available for flood reduction and biodiversity benefits, and as a last resort beavers could be trapped and moved or "lethally controlled".

Head of Nature Recovery at Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust Roy Mosley said it was "really exciting" to see "part of our heritage" return.

Beavers have been breeding in enclosures across the country and there are "effectively surplus beavers who have to go somewhere".

Few other animals have the ability to modify and shape their surrounding environment like the beaver does. They help the environment and reduce flood risk by building dams, creating wetlands, and changing water flow.

Mr Mosley said: “We do all support compensation payments for farmers – it’s absolutely essential as far as we are concerned.

“If they rock up in the wrong place and are damaging valuable farmland you can modify the dams so they decide it's not the right place. Nobody wants to see valuable orchards lost.”