COUNCILS are being urged to reduce mowing of parks and roadside verges to save money and provide wildflowers to help Britain's under-threat bees.

A survey of dozens of county and metropolitan councils by Friends of the Earth and wildlife charity Buglife revealed some had already brought in pollinator action plans, which were saving tens of thousands of pounds a year.

Dorset County Council said it saves £93,000 a year by only cutting rural road verges when needed, and Monmouthshire County Council estimates it has saved £35,000 annually from reducing highway verge mowing.

Burnley Borough Council estimated it saves around £60,000 a year from reducing grass-cutting to help bees and other insects, while other councils such as Hampshire and Somerset are drawing up plans to help pollinators.

A number of local authorities are taking steps to help pollinators, such as creating habitat, even if they do not have plans for pollinator action plans, Friends of the Earth and Buglife said.

The environmental groups said introducing pollinator action plans was likely to prove popular with the public.

More than four-fifths (81%) of people back calls for councils to help bees by cutting areas of grass less often in parks and roadside verges to let wildflowers grow to provide food for insects, a YouGov poll revealed last year.

Dorset County Council's senior ecologist Dr Annabel King said their pollinator action plan "is specifically aimed at helping all pollinators, including bees, butterflies and moths, numbers of which have declined severely in the last 50 years".

Only cutting rural road verges when needed allowed wildflowers and grasses to flower and set seed, and verges are created with subsoil, not topsoil, which results in wildflower-rich grass that boost wildlife and costs less to manage, she said.

In Devon, measures included only undertaking weed control to prevent damage to infrastructure such as drains and not using pesticides, while local people are being encouraged to do their bit for bees.

Roger Croad, Devon County Council's cabinet member for environmental services, said: "This has successfully encouraged communities and schools to create areas of wildflowers, build well designed bug hotels and take other positive steps to conserve pollinators across Devon."

Friends of the Earth bee campaigner Nick Rau said: "Councils have an important role to play in protecting our bees and other pollinators.

"But although many local authorities are taking steps to help our under-threat bees, only a handful have so far introduced comprehensive action plans to protect them.

"Measures such as allowing patches of grass to grow longer in parks and on road verges aren't just good news for pollinators; they can save money for local councils too. "

Paul Evans, Buglife pollinator adviser, added: "Although it is great to see more action being taken for pollinators there is so much more that could be done.

"Local authorities need to be leading the way, both by demonstrating good practice in their parks and verge management and by enthusing and helping their local communities to take action themselves. "

Buglife and Friends of the Earth have produced a guide for councils setting out policies to help pollinators, with easy, cost-effective measures to protect and restore bee-friendly habitat in their local areas.