Two peregrine falcon chicks born on top of one of the most sought-after apartment blocks in Sussex are set to fly the nest.

The chicks hatched from a clutch of four eggs perched 334ft up at the top of Sussex Heights on Brighton seafront.

One chick died and the fourth egg failed to hatch.

The two young birds will be ringed this week and one of their feathers removed and taken away for DNA testing to identify them in the future. The chicks will also be weighed.

The falcons' progress is being followed on The Regency Square Area Society web site.

Peregrine falcons were extinct in Sussex between 1945 and 1990. There were 360 pairs in Britain by 1963 but, following breeding programmes and restrictions on pesticides, numbers rose to more than 1,000 pairs.

The Regency Square Area Society has been running a web diary since 2002 at www. regencybrighton. com/birds