Butterfly flies again

A RARE butterfly that vanished from England more than four decades ago is back in its former heartland.

A group of chequered skipper butterflies will be released at a forest site, the location of which is being kept secret to foil “butterfly rustlers”.

The species is considered among Britain’s prettiest, with gold and brown wings and a distinctive darting flight.

It was historically found from Oxfordshire to Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.

Though still found in Scotland, it disappeared from England in 1976.