A BIRD hospital is in desperate need of volunteers after being inundated with admissions due to the warm weather.

Greenmount Wild Bird Hospital says it has been admitting about 30 birds a day on average, and is currently caring for 400 birds - more than double its usual amount.

The hospital’s manager, Natalie Stewart-Kerr, said: “We are overflowing. This weather is just causing us massive problems and we desperately need more help.

“Birds are struggling in the heat, and it is difficult to release them in this weather because we don’t want them to suffer.

"We have 60 cages in the hospital and we are having to double up with some, which we don't like doing.

“We need at least five volunteers a day and we only had two of us on yesterday.”

Greenmount Wild Bird Hospital has been a registered chartity since 1979 and aims to care for and release sick and injured wild birds or to house those incapacitated for release.

The hospital has increased in size over the years, and now accepts more than 1,000 birds from across the UK.

Anyone interested in volunteering should call the hospital on 01204 884086 or email greenmountwildbirdhospital@gmail.com.