The Hawk and Owl Trust have taken the decision not to ring this year's brood of peregrine chicks at Norwich Cathedral over safety concerns.

Between May 3 and 5 three chicks were hatched at the spire, and under normal circumstances the Hawk and Owl Trust would place a metal ring on their leg in order to identify them in the future.

The Hawk and Owl Trust said in a statement: 'Anyone who has been following the Norwich Peregrines will know that the female is a relatively inexperienced bird, who is also large, clumsy and inclined to react strongly to situations and has already suffered two punctured eggs from her own claws, and the tragic loss of a chick last year after she caught it in her talons when spooked off the nest.

'The process of ringing the chicks does not endanger them, but accessing the nest site from the spire is not straightforward. With, we believe, the benefit to science outweighed by the risk of danger to the chicks this year the decision has been taken that we will not be ringing the chicks.'