A grizzled skipper has expanded its habitat in Croydon.

No, we are not talking about Wayne Rooney.

We are of course talking about butterflies.

At the start of this year London Wildlife Trust was awarded a £21,000 grant to help expand habitats for nearly 30 special butterfly species that can be found at Croydon's Hutchinson’s Bank nature reserve.

From dark green fritillary to the small blue butterfly, all have been helped by the expansion.

What really highlighted the project's success was when volunteer Martin Willis spotted a butterfly so rare that it hadn't been seen in years.

“It is very encouraging to see the brown hairstreak back at Hutchinson’s," South London reserve manager for London Wildlife Trust Shaun Marriott said.

"They are very elusive and haven’t been seen here for many years. We have cut back the scrub to make way for wildflowers, but it was important we didn’t remove too much because the brown hairstreak lays its eggs on blackthorn. Seeing the butterfly here means we have managed to strike a balance and get the best of both worlds.”

It’s now hoped the butterfly will again be a regular resident at the nature reserve.