Bird family sets up home in photographer's bicycle

A family of robins has set up an unlikely new home in a bicycle in a photographer's garden.

Sarita White, from Ilkeston in Derbyshire, said the vintage bike was normally used as a prop in her wedding shoots.

But last week she and her husband found five eggs, which have since hatched, inside the nest in the basket.

She said: "It's really sweet but we feel like we have to look out for them, there are some cats around."

The bicycle is stored next to Mrs White's garden studio but was being moved during some spring tidying.

She said: "As it was moved, a bird flew out - it was such a surprise.

"When we looked we found the eggs and were then worried we might have scared the parents off but they came back within 10 minutes."

The eggs hatched at the weekend but the chicks attracted the attention of local cats.

"We saw a cat on the fence and said, 'oh my god, we have to do something'.

"So we put chicken wire on the fence and around the nest. It took the parents a little while to work it out but now they hop in and out without a problem," she said.

Robins start to fly - fledging - about 14 days after hatching and are looked after by their parents for another three weeks.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].