Video: Nesting birds in Tilney St Lawrence take over postbox

Pair of nesting birds take over postbox at West Norfolk timber company

Businessman Adrian Rix was getting fed-up with local children pushing bunches of grass into his postbox - and kept taking it out.

But some determined soul was beating him to it and each day another bundle of grass was firmly lodged in the bottom of the box on the gate of a Tilney St Lawrence timber yard, and it was duly removed again

But when Mr Rix put his hand in the back of the box and pulled out a perfectly-formed nest, complete with horse hair, he realised that it wasn't the village youth messing about, but a determined pair of birds looking to raise a family.

'I had been pulling the grass out every day - but then they must have had a busy one because there was a whole nest in there,' said Mr Rix, who owns Fleet Timber.

It was at that point that post was banned from the box and a sign went-up warning everyone not to disturb it because a pair of great tits had taken it over for the duration.

A clutch of four eggs was duly laid and now the parent birds can be seen making regular trips in and out of the box to feed their ever-hungry chicks.

'We try to keep the gate closed when we can so they're not disturbed too much - they don't stop coming backwards and forwards to feed them,' said Mr Rix.

Despite the noise of the timber yard machinery, traffic on the nearby road and the gate opening now and again, the pair don't seem a bit bothered and appear to be successfully raising their young.

'It is the first time it's happened in the three years we have been here,' said Mr Rix.

The company's previous home, on the Saddlebow Industrial Estate just outside King's Lynn, was even more of a wildlife magnet due to the proximity of the River Great Ouse.

'We used to see marsh harriers over there at this time of year - it was a nice environment,' said Mr Rix.

Watch the video on www.EDP24.co.uk