Car-nage as thousands of birds invade village

THOUSANDS of starlings have besieged a village for two weeks in scenes that remind locals of Alfred Hitchcock's film thriller The Birds.

- Imogen Howse

Villagers have had to use umbrellas to shelter from "bombing raids" as droppings cover their cars.

Locals in Rearsby, Leics, were initially awestruck by sunset clouds of starlings in murmurations swooping overhead. But the displays quickly turned into a "nightmare".

Suzanne Mullins said: "It's been going on for the best part of two weeks now and it's still difficult to find the words to describe it.

"I'd seen the murmurations on TV but I'd never witnessed them.

Explosion

"To see so many birds in one place all at the same time. It's just spectacular. When they leave the tree in the morning, it's like the tree explodes. An explosion of birds.