A building supplies shop became the new home for seagull chicks when a nest was made on the roof.

Residents of Honiton’s Church Hill reported seeing six eggs hatch in one day on the roof of Bradfords Building Supplies.

A resident said: “Looking out of my window, I first spotted two grey fluff balls among the dozens of gulls that were sitting on the roof.

“It was only because they moved so slowly that it occurred to me they might be gull chicks rather than pigeons or another type of grey bird. I got my binoculars out and called my children, and over the course of the next two hours we watched several more chicks hatch.”

A local Royal Society for the Protection of Birds officer confirmed it is very rare to see new-born gull chicks as their parents usually keep them in or close to their nests for at least a few months until they can fly. Seagulls tend to nest in early May with the eggs hatching three weeks later.