First flight of wild young cranes in West Country for 400 years

The existence of the three chicks was kept secret to "protect the families"

Three wild cranes - the first to be bred in the West Country for 400 years - have taken flight.

The young cranes hatched "in secret" in May - one at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire and two on farmland on the Somerset Levels.

Experts said, their existence was kept secret to "protect the families".

Conservationists at WWT Slimbridge have been working to re-establish a population in the region for six years.

But this year is the first time birds from the project have successfully reared chicks.

Damon Bridge, of the Great Crane Project, said: "We're delighted - success has always been about seeing birds raised in the wild take flight.

"To have young on the wing in Somerset and at Slimbridge so early on is really fantastic.

"The cranes are long-lived birds with many breeding attempts ahead of them and we are well on our way to our target of 20 breeding pairs in the South West by 2025."

All three chicks have been named Peter in memory of Peter Newbery a "driving force" behind the project, who died before it finished.

Cranes were commonplace in parts of the West in the 1600s but became extinct across the UK

Ron and Trish Coombes, who farm on the Somerset Levels, said it had been "very exciting" watching the cranes hatch and rear two of the "three Petes".

They said they were aware the birds were favouring one site but were "astonished" when they appeared with two chicks.

Cranes were commonplace in parts of the West in the 1600s but became extinct across the UK.

A small population has been established in the Norfolk Broads since 1979.