Pictured above: (l-r) Michelle Bartlett  and Joanne Cattermole ready to chop down some branches at Salcey Forest

A group of bankers swapped their calculators for saws to head into a Northampton forest to help the protection of butterflies.

Nine members of staff from Yorkshire Bank's Financial Solutions Centre in Waterside Way, Northampton, travelled to Salcey Forest to help the Forestry Commission in the clearing of an overgrown riding.

Katy Billings, Joanne Cattermole, Michelle Bartlett, Julie Sargent, Nik Behan, Andy Ashton, Mike Farrington, David Lett and Susanna Gentil went into the woods to spend a day cutting back trees with saws and tree clippers.

They also cleared bramble-ridden hedges and chopped down trees and branches in Salcey Forest, which is located seven miles from Northampton town centre, as part of the bank's Community Social Responsibility programme.

Katy Billings, Private Partner at Yorkshire Bank's Financial Solutions Centre in Northampton, said the Forestry Commission was responsible for the protection and expansion of Britain's forests and woodlands.

She said: "The Forestry Commission is always on the look-out for volunteers to carry out vital tidying up work in its forests across the country to ensure these great places are maintained for local communities to visit and enjoy.

"We decided to help at Salcey Forest since it is only a few miles away from our office and although tiring, the work was incredibly rewarding especially seeing the finished result and the difference the team had made.

"Fortunately, there were no accidents aside from the ongoing losing battle with the hawthorns and brambles! It was quite a big job since we cleared a strip which was about 100 metres long.

"The reason the ridings need to be cleared is to encourage certain species of butterflies to return to the area.

"Jo, the ranger for the Forestry Commission, was so impressed by the team's hard work that she claimed that she had never had a volunteer group work so hard before!

"After we had spent the day there, a few of the staff returned with their families to enjoy a walk around Salcey Forest and see their handy work. It was a really enjoyable and worthwhile team-building exercise."