Love them or hate them, you have to admire the natural world’s industrious earth thrower - the mole.

For centuries man and mole have battled for supremacy of the soil and it remains a conflict that continues today, but what should we know about this rarely seen, never heard so often spoken about of British mammals.

The presence of a mole in your lawn, border or veg patch, is never without reason, it is from a desire to survive in an environment little known to many. Soil is without doubt the provider of life, a unique harsh setting that only creatures with special attributes can call home. The mole is the pinnacle of all that nature has conditioned to a life below ground. Living in an almost permanently dark world it is surprising to know that the mole is not blind but has the ability to distinguish changes in light spectrums we as humans fail to perceive. Evidence that is apparent when filming these amazing creatures in their natural environment, night vision recording requires infra red light source to reveal and record the mole at home. The camera shy mole is quick to close down the source of the light and return the darkness as before. Not relying upon light to navigate the complex network of tunnels it creates with such ease just how does the mole navigate this ominous confinement?

This is a preview of next month's article: 'Un-earthing the truth' by Jeff Nicholls. May's Smallholder magazine will be on the shelves from April 12