Gurkhas 'helped save red kites' in Cambrian mountains

Red kites could have died out in mid Wales if the military had not deployed Gurkhas to protect the birds' nests, an expert has said.

The feared Nepalese fighters were tasked with safeguarding red kite eggs, when the UK's few surviving pairs took refuge in the Cambrian mountains in the 1980s.

Gareth Owen, who runs a red-kite feeding centre near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, said their numbers are now rising.

Mr Owen said the soldiers even managed to catch one would-be egg thief during the conservation effort.

Matt Murray reports.