Kittiwake rescued from controversial netting by firefighters
Firefighters were called out to free a kittiwake stuck in controversial netting in Lowestoft.
The netting - put up around businesses in the town - has been heavily criticised by conservation groups.
The endangered gulls have found themselves confused and caught in nets as they attempt to build their nests.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue were tasked with saving the trapped bird yesterday (Sunday 9 May). The team used a 13.5 metre platform to scale the building to help release it.
Kittiwakes are in decline but there are two colonies in Suffolk. The RSPB previously said it was "frustrating and upsetting" to see nesting sites closed off to the gulls.
They nest on roofs and ledges - often narrow spaces comparable to the cliffs they'd normally call home.
Many people in the area have said the birds can be a nuisance. Last week ITV Anglia’s reporter Rob Setchell went to see why people were calling for ‘nests not nets’.
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BT, a firm which had put up netting to prevent the birds nesting, has since said it will remove as much as possible, and put up extra ledges for kittiwakes to nest.