SIX kestrel chicks that faced starvation because their injured mother was unable to feed them have been rescued and released into the wild.

A video shows the youngsters at feeding time after being rescued from their nest box in Saughall Massie by RSPCA inspectors.

The animal welfare charity had been contacted by a concerned local resident who had been monitoring the box and noticed the mother was struggling to feed her six chicks.

She could see the mother bird was jumping out of the nest box but was unable to fly so was struggling to feed her hungry chicks. It is understood the male bird left the area.

The mother and chicks were taken to the RSPCA's Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre near Nantwich.

Dedicated staff at the centre were then given the job of feeding the demanding young chicks four times a day.

The mother bird was found to have three fractures in her wing and sadly the decision was made to put her to sleep to end her suffering.

Lee Stewart, centre manager at Stapeley Grange, said: "When we have kestrel chicks of this age admitted to the hospital and we know there are no parents left, our first thought is always whether we can return the chicks to the area and put them into a wild kestrel nests where there are chicks of a similar age.

"Timing has to be perfect and you have to have the support of a fully licensed British Trust for Ornithology ringer and on this occasion everything seemed to fall into place.

"So, just five days after arriving at the hospital and once signed off by the team the chicks were returned to the area and distributed into a number of wild nests.

"These nests will be monitored regularly now by the BTO ringer who put them back. This is a perfect outcome for our orphans who will now be reared by wild foster parents."