A FLOCK of rare birds have made their home on a popular stretch of North-East beach.

The little terns have chosen the beach at Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, as their home rather than a specially-protected area of nearby South Gare .

Volunteers from the Industry Nature Conservation Association (Inca) are concerned for the birds' safety because their chosen home is popular with walkers, bikers and foxes.

There is no shelter on the beach and so the birds are relying on their own camouflage to keep them safe.

There are only 2,000 little terns in Britain and the Teesside birds have been named as one of the country's most successful group after nesting at Teesmouth for several years.

The area where they had previously nested had been attracting predators, so volunteers put fake birds on an island at South Gare to try to get them to settle in safety.

But the birds ignored the fencing, warning signs and volunteers and decided to settle on the open beach. New warning signs and fencing will be erected at the beach, but volunteers are concerned that the young terns could be trampled or eaten by foxes.