A WILDLIFE charity is urging gardeners to delay trimming their hedges until the end of the summer.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is appealing to people to wait until the end of September before chopping back trees and bushes to protect late nesting birds.
Ivy on walls, hedges, bushes and trees still have fruit and berries which could help birds and other wildlife through the winter.
Most garden birds breed between March and August but some species will be in their nests until late into September.
The RSPB’s Val Osborne said: “If you do need to do it sooner for safety reasons make sure there are no active nests or try to steer clear of them.”
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