New funding means important bird species will be protected by a warden.

West Norfolk council has given the Norfolk Wildlife Trust £9,000 to fund the summer post at its Holme Dunes reserve, near Hunstanton.

Ringed plovers, little terns and oystercatchers all nest at the site.

The warden will monitor areas where public access is restricted to protect breeding birds and monitor visitor numbers.

Head of nature reserves at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Kevin Hart said the summer warden has now started and will patrol the beach from Old Hunstanton to Thornham Channel where cordoned nesting/breeding areas are situated.

'We hope the project will help to promote positive attitudes towards the conservation management and importantly, understanding of its ecological value and the primary purpose of the site as a nature reserve,' he said.

A habitat monitoring and mitigation fund has been created using levies from new housing development in West Norfolk, to help monitor and mitigate the adverse effects of increasing visitor numbers resulting from the development.