Bad weather hurts Britain's Puffin population

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Puffins on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast. Credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

There has been growing concern that UK's seabird population may have been seriously harmed, after prolonged spells of cold and windy weather over the last few months.

In recent weeks, the bodies of thousands of starved and exhausted Puffins have been washing up along Britain's east coast.

Researchers are taking a census of the birds' numbers on the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth.

The last "puffin census" in 2008, carried out by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, recorded 36,835 pairs.

ITV News' Martha Fairlie reports: