A nest of five baby blue tits had a very narrow escape when their tree was cut down with a chainsaw that missed their heads by about 1 cm.

A tree surgeon cutting down the huge tree checked for bird nests but had no idea there was a nest inside the trunk when he started sawing through it.

The tiny birds were only discovered once they had been cut down - and the chainsaw narrowly missed the animals. Their lucky escape happened last Thursday (May 12) at a property in Sedlescombe, East Sussex.

When rescuers arrived they were handed a round of the tree trunk that had the nest of blue tits inside. One of the birds is thought to have died, but the other five were all alive and well, rescuers said.

The five nestling blue tits were taken to East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) casualty centre at Whitesmith and moved to an incubator.

Hev Clarke, one of the WRAS rescuers, said: “We were amazed at how close the saw blades must have come to the youngsters. If they had raised their heads up or the saw had to be placed just 1 cm lower they would all have been killed.”

The birds will now be hand-reared by staff and volunteers and fed every 15 minutes from 7 am till 10 pm.

Trevor Weeks MBE, WRAS founder, said: “This is a timely reminder that at this time of year birds are nesting everywhere. It really isn’t a good time of year to be cutting down trees or removing bushes although we appreciate that when there is a danger of a tree falling or is diseased then more urgent action is sometimes needed. It is essential that trees and bushes are checked thoroughly and not to forget that holes in tree trunks are often used by not just woodpeckers but other smaller birds like blue tits and robins".

A nest of five baby blue tits had a very narrow escape when their tree was cut down with a chainsaw that missed their heads by about 1cm. A tree surgeon cutting down the huge tree checked for bird nests but had no idea there was a nest inside the trunk when he started sawing through it. The tiny birds were only discovered once they had been cut down - and the chainsaw narrowly missed the animals. Their lucky escape happened last Thursday (May 12) at a property in Sedlescombe, East Sussex. When rescuers arrived they were handed a round of the tree trunk that had the nest of blue tits inside. One of the birds is thought to have died, but the other five were all alive and well, rescuers said. The five nestling blue tits were taken to East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) casualty centre at Whitesmith and moved to an incubator. Hev Clarke, one of the WRAS rescuers, said: “We were amazed at how close the saw blades must have come to the youngsters. “Sadly there were signs that one may have perished but the five in the nest were extremely lucky and very narrowly missed the saw. “If they had raised their heads up or the saw had to be placed just 1cm lower they would all have been killed.” The birds will now be hand-reared by staff and volunteers and fed every 15 minutes from 7 am till 10 pm. Trevor Weeks MBE, WRAS founder, said: “This is a timely reminder that at this time of year birds are nesting everywhere. “It really isn’t a good time of year to be cutting down trees or removing bushes although we appreciate that when there is a danger of a tree falling or is diseased then more urgent action is sometimes needed. “It is essential that trees and bushes are checked thoroughly and not to forget that holes in tree trunks are often used by not just woodpeckers but other smaller birds like blue tits and robins.