Oyster "cubes" have been deployed off the North East coast of England, in a bid to restore the near-extinct native species to UK waters.

In a UK-first, marine conservationists from ZSL & Groundwork North East and Cumbria have deployed 20 specialised oyster reef cubes – textured concrete-like blocks which are home to 4,000 European native oysters - in the North East coast, as part of an innovative project to restore marine life in the UK.