West Midlands Ambulance Service calls off removal of swallow colony from ambulance hub

The protestors had argued that the relocation would be "irrational, unnecessary and out of order".

West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed last week that a licence had been granted for the immediate removal of the birds from the site, with their relocation planned for Tuesday.

A group of protesters against the relocation gathered at the site on Tuesday morning, but hours later the service announced the colony would not be removed after all.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “This morning, wildlife experts we have engaged to advise us examined the swallows' nests at Shrewsbury Hub to assess the situation.

“They found that there were no fledglings in the nests.

“As a result, the advice we have received is that, given the birds have taken flight, we should wait for the birds to migrate fully within the coming weeks.

“We will then work with the wildlife charities and experts to find a longer-term solution so that the birds do not nest in the hub next season.”

Approximately six pairs of swallows had been thought to be nesting in the depot.

But county bird lovers and conservationists campaigned against the removal of the birds, amid widespread declines in swallow numbers.

Among the demonstrators was Tom Wall, a passionate bird-watcher from south Shropshire. He said: "We've been told they've been nesting there for seven years.

"We're halfway through the breeding season, and the ambulance service and Natural England decided they're going to evict these swallows, although they've got fledglings in the nests.

"If they waited until September, the birds would go on their own.

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Sarah Gibson from Oswestry also joined in the demonstration. "Swallows have nested in the ambulance garage for years and years. It's a really good, strong colony of them here, which is fabulous because swallows are in steep decline.

"Over the last 12 years, they've declined by more than 52 per cent in England

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Green Party county councillor for Radbrook Julia Evans said she was "very angry" to hear of the disruption to the colony.

She added: "We've lost 52 per cent of our swallow population. They're creatures of habit, they have a homing beacon to the place where they grew up. If the birds have young in their nests, their chances of survival are diminished."

But a West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said the service had been left with "no option".

They added: “We simply cannot have birds nesting in the garage, an area where clinical equipment is cleaned and maintained.

"It is costing upwards of £3,000 a month to keep it clean, money that could be used on patient care.

“Not only do the birds make it an unpleasant place to work, they are causing damage to equipment and there is the risk of their droppings infecting clinical equipment, a matter which has real risks for patients.

“We have obtained a licence from Natural England to remove the birds. We will initially attempt to rehome them and are grateful to staff who have put in touch with a charity that has agreed to assist us in doing so.

"We will also put up bird boxes outside the building should the birds come back in the hope that they will not try and nest in the garage again.

“The last thing we want to do is cause harm to the birds, but we cannot continue as we are with the infection risk to patients and the costs that should be invested in patient care.”