Tresco, Bryher and St Martin's rat scheme proposed

Rats are the biggest threat on land to two species of seabird that nest in burrows

Plans to eradicate rats on three more islands in the Isles of Scilly have been outlined.

The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust wants to undertake a project to protect two species of seabirds: Manx shearwaters and storm petrels.

The birds have returned to the island of St Agnes since it was declared "rat-free" in 2013, the trust said.

Views are being gathered from Tresco, Bryher and St Martin's, the islands earmarked for the scheme.

One Bryher resident commented rats were "absolutely everywhere".

The Manx shearwater is one of the species targeted by rats

The wildlife trust said it had formed a partnership with several organisations to look at a possible new eradication scheme.

It includes the RSPB, Duchy of Cornwall, Tresco Estates, the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Natural England, which has employed an "island officer" to gather local views and look at feasibility.

The scheme would cover Tresco, Bryher and St Martin's, as well as some uninhabited islands

Jaclyn Pearson, development manager with the wildlife trust, said rats were "an invasive predator" that came to the islands via shipwrecks.

She said: "Rats are the biggest threats to these seabirds on land... We as humans have accidentally introduced them to habitats where they can thrive to the detriment of other species."

She explained the "very large" and "expensive" project would involve rodenticides locked in bait stations during a six-month period of the winter and a fundraising plan would be needed.

Ms Pearson added that the scheme to remove rats from St Agnes and Gogh in 2013 had proved successful. Rats were also eradicated from Round Island in 2016.

She said: "For the first time in over 100 years after we removed the rats, in 2014 we had the first ever chicks in living memory that survived."

Bryher islander Issy Tibbs told BBC Radio Cornwall: "There are rats absolutely everywhere. You'd be lucky if you didn't see them and they are a pest.

"You can't leave anything outside without them going for it... A lot of the time you have to keep the rubbish inside or in really good containers to stop the rats going for it - they're really grim."