The number of ringed plover chicks successfully fledging has been increasing.

A project to increase the number of plover birds has been hailed a success.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said chick numbers had increased after efforts by volunteers to keep visitors and dogs away from coastal nests at Snettisham, Norfolk.

The ringed plover, with its black eye mask and distinctive orange and black-tipped bills, were red-listed by the bird charity, after their breeding populations suffered declines of greater than 50%.

Three years ago, 40 pairs of birds fledged 19 chicks, rising to 71 this year after funding from the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, and nature reserve Wild Ken Hill.