JUNE is traditionally recognised as the first week of summer and we may be feeling a little hard done by that one of the few disadvantages of living in the Wyre Forest district is that we are many miles from the nearest piece of coastline.

While this is true, the bright side is that if we do choose to travel to the coast we are presented with quite the variety of shore lines which have very different characteristics and are about the same sort of journey time away. While most of us look at the shore as a great place to relax and enjoy the sun, it is also a great place to look at the fascinating variety of very different wildlife, particularly when you get a chance to look at a class of animals known as bristle worms.

Bristle worms have no land living relatives and their body forms are so unusual they resemble creatures that exist in science fiction stories.

This class includes the polychaet worms. These weird creatures have leg-like appendices making them look more like centipedes than worms. They also have a fearsome bite and, considering large ones can top 40cms, they can pose a risk to human fingers if handled.

Most of these creatures can be found by digging into wet sand or mud on the beach while others can be found attached to structures such as piers.

I have even found one co-habiting in a hermit crab's shell. I have to admit when I first saw this it gave me quite a nasty turn as these are far from pretty creatures.

Also of the same class are the so-called sea mice. As the name suggests, they superficially look like a furry mouse but they are far from being mammalian in origin, having no legs or any bones at all. These creatures are quite a treat to see as they scuttle under rocks in deep rock pools.

Lugworms are well known to anglers who use them as bait and to seashore wading birds for whom they provide an important source of food.

Lugworms are easily located at low tide on sandy or muddy shores by looking for the distinctive casts of sand.

In contrast, another member of this class is the fan worms, which are fascinating and beautiful creatures. They conceal their bodies in constructed tubes similar to that of the caddis flies except the tube is attached to rock or sand.

They explore their world through brightly coloured tentacles that radiate from the tube opening, making the tube worms look like beautiful pulsating sea flowers.