Adorable family of blue tits turn town hall bin into their home

A local town hall welcomed new residents - after a family of blue tits turned a cigarette bin into their family home.

The birds built a nest in a bin attached to Kettlesing Millennium Village Hall in North Yorkshire.

A note had been placed on the bin warning smokers to dispose of the cigarette butts elsewhere.

The bin is now home to three baby blue tits - each with their own 'hole' to peek through - and an adult female.

Local resident, Elise Key, 35, spotted the nesting chicks before teaching a Pilates class.

She quickly snapped a video and incredibly managed to capture the moment their mum returned to feed them.

Elise, a physiotherapist, said: "I go there for my Pilates classes there twice weekly and the little note on the front of the box had been there for a few weeks but hadn't taken much notice of it.

"I took the video as I was unloading my car and I could hear the tweeting.

"I had a little peek down into the box and I was shocked to see birds in there.

"Everyone was standing back looking at the birds.

"You could see all the little birds poking their heads out. In one of the videos I got, I was panicking that some of them were going to fall out!

"Every time I finished the class I came out and pointed them out to clients.

"I'd heard the mum lingering around a little bit and when they all popped their heads up you could tell she was near - it was just so cute.

Unfortunately, the feathery friends have since left their makeshift nest.

Elise added: "They left a few days later as they were big enough to fly, you could tell.

"A friend actually saw them fly the box!"

She took the video last Thursday.