A NEST of birds trapped inside a car had travelled up to five miles before being freed by a car technician in Bournemouth.

Jon Brooks, who works for Westover Nissan on Wallisdown Road, was about to start an oil change when he heard the sound of chirping emanating from within the vehicle.

Initially thinking it must be birds somewhere else in the garage, he carried on, before realising the noises were coming from within the Nissan Pixo he was working on.

Looking behind the bumper, Jon and his colleagues saw the nest, which contained three tiny birds, was balancing on part of the car's under tray.

“When I heard the chirping I thought it must be pigeons inside the workshop but then realised it was coming from much closer to us,” added John.

“We couldn't believe it when we saw the nest under the car.

“The car had low mileage so it may have been stationary for some time whilst the birds built their nest and no one was even aware they were in there.”

The car dealership swiftly contacted the RSPCA to report the unusual find, which despatched inspector Graham Hammond to collect the tiny birds.

Inspector Hammond identified the birds as very young grey pied wagtails, which had escaped unscathed despite travelling five miles to the garage.

Inspector Hammond said: “We're very grateful to Mr Brooks and all the staff at the dealership for acting so quickly and carefully to protect these tiny birds.

“Thanks to them they have been given the best chance of surviving but you do have to feel a little sorry for the parent birds who would have come back to find not only their nest, but the whole car gone.

“Of course we would usually ask anyone finding fledglings to leave them alone as their parents will return to them, but in this case it would have been impossible to find the exact area that they came from so they will be given the best of care and released when they are ready.”