WATCH: Game, sett, and match as family triumphs in 18-month badger battle

But after an 18-month-long campaign, a couple say they are relieved to be finally free of a destructive family of badgers.

Lucy and Mark Davis, who live in Stourbridge, with their three young boys, had grown increasingly concerned with the badger infestation.

The family of two adults and three cubs had made themselves at home creating a network of intricate setts underneath the garden.

However the couple were left at their wits' end with strict legislation in place curbing attempts to remove the pests.

1. Use fences, including electric fences, to stop badgers from entering the land or to protect crops.

2. Install two-way gates to fences so the animals don’t damage them when they are moving around.

3. Apply pesticides in the garden to reduce the number of grubs or insects, including leather jackets and chafer grubs, which attract badgers.

4. Apply to Natural England for a licence to interfere with the sett if the damage is serious such as subsidence.

5. A licence is needed for any work which could disturb them or damage their habitats such as the use of one-way badger gates on sett entrances or otherwise blocking or obstructing setts.

6. Remember that badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. People can be jailed for up to six months and be fined £5,000 if they are found guilty of intentionally capturing, killing or injuring a badger alongside other offences.

They had captured the animals on CCTV footage to allow experts to keep an eye on their activities until they were eventually successful in securing a licence allowing them to bring in experts to work on moving the badger family.

Despite the work setting the couple back thousands of pounds, they say it has been worth it get rid of their problem.

"They have blighted our lives for a while but we are so relieved that we are now badger free," said Mrs Davis, of South Road, Norton.

"It really has felt like a war at times, but the irony is we quite like the animals, me and Mark are both members of the Wildlife Trust," she added.

The couple first noticed badgers were becoming an increasing problem in their garden last January. Tunnels were dug underneath the garden shed, causing it to begin to subside, leaving fears their home could be affected eventually. Holes were appearing across their lawn alongside heaps of soil and the problem had left the couple's three children unable to play outside.

Badgers and their setts are protected under rules banning any action to kill or harm them or destroy their sets.

Once officials at government advisors Natural England had agreed to issuing a licence, the couple were able to bring in specialists from CRC Ecology to tackle the issue. A one-way gate was installed at the entrance to the setts near the house and garden. Once the badgers leave the setts, often at night, they are unable to get back inside.

A mesh has also been laid stopping the badgers recreating the tunnels.