Neo-nicotinoid pesticide threat to wild birds

New research suggests that a farm pesticide which has been blamed for impacting Britain's bee colonies may also be harming the nation's wild birds.

Neo-nicotinoids, which farmers use to protect crops from attack, are being linked with a decline in some bird species like swallows whose numbers have declined by 20% in the last three years. Farmers dispute the figures, which are published in the journal Nature, arguing that alternative treatments are far more damaging to wildlife.

Claire Marshall reports from Gloucestershire