A MINEHEAD woman is helping to smooth down ruffled feathers by taking care of a variety of hapless fledglings at her Parks Lane home.

For many years Barbara Priest has taken in all sorts of furry and feathered waifs and strays and is currently hand-rearing a young swift.

The bird, which is almost ready to take to the wing, fell out of its nest in Summerland Road and has been building up its strength on a diet of mince and as many flies as Mrs Priest can catch.

She also has a young seagull in her care - a second has already left home - and a baby jackdaw.

Mrs Priest said: "One of the seagulls fell out of its nest and the other fell down a chimney.

"I'll probably have to launch the swift out of the bedroom window when he's ready to go as they can't take off from the ground."

Her role as a foster-mum to local wildlife started almost a decade ago when she took in a young grey squirrel.

"He lived in an aviary in the garden for eight years because we couldn't release him back into the wild because grey squirrels are classed as vermin," Mrs Priest said.

Her reputation as a wildlife carer is growing rapidly and local vets regularly refer cases of injured or abandoned creatures to her.

Photo: Steve Guscott