Volunteer rescuers from East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service are asking people to leave fledgling birds alone in an attempt to save hundreds from dying unnecessarily.

Every year young fledgling birds are picked up by well-meaning people who find them in their gardens, and think they should be taken into care, when in fact they are fairly safe and should be left alone.

Trevor Weeks, a rescue co-ordinator based in Uckfield, said: "We are starting to get calls from people insisting that we take in a fledgling bird and look after it, when in fact the bird should have been left alone.

"It is normal for fledgling birds to leave the nest early and not be able to fly properly yet."

Parent birds know that their young are vulnerable to predators like cats, foxes and birds of prey when they get too large for their nests, so they will quite often encourage them to leave the nest early and then hide them at different locations around gardens and homes.

Mr Weeks added: "Every fledgling bird in the UK is at risk of being taken by a cat, fox or bird of prey, and the chances of them surviving being left along with the parents is higher than the chances of surviving if being picked up and taken into care.

"Trying to get the moisture content right when feeding young birds is very difficult and getting it wrong can lead to the death of the bird."

Maz Marriott, a duty co-ordinator based in Brighton added: "I wouldn't want my children taken away from me, and I'm sure these birds don't want us taking them away unnecessarily too."