AA praised for saving rare Spanish eggs

The AA has received praise after rescuing a driver who broke down while transporting a dozen rare birds’ eggs as part of a conservation project.

David Walters, director of Wiltshire-based charity the Great Bustard Group, was returning from Spain with the eggs when his 4x4 broke down outside the channel tunnel terminal in Folkstone, Kent.

The Great Bustard has been wiped out in the UK and the rare eggs had been collected from Castilla y León in North-western Spain. An alternator fault in the car meant the incubator wasn’t able to run, putting the eggs at risk but they were rescued as soon as the AA arrived.

Ten of the eggs hatched just a few days after the breakdown, which is considered a healthy hatch rate.