ONE of the country's rarest sea birds has experienced a successful season at its breeding site on the North-East coast, it has been announced.

Little terns, whose breeding attempts in the region have suffered several setbacks over recent years, including an attack by an illegal egg collector, arrived at Crimdon, north of Hartlepool, in late May.

By the end of June, at least 49 nesting pairs had produced more than 60 chicks at the site, one of Britain's most important for the birds, and 26 eventually fledged, in line with the national average for the species. Attack by foxes probably accounted for many of those which did not fly the nest.

The birds were guarded round-the-clock by warden Ian Greenwood and a team of volunteers, coordinated by the Industry Nature Conservation Association (Inca), based at Billingham.

Geoff Barber, of Inca, said: "Without the fantastic work that Ian did, and the dedication of the volunteers, the birds could so easily have been driven away by thoughtless people venturing into the colony or carrying out activities such as using motorbikes, microlites or beach buggies too close to the colony."

The warden's work was funded by landfill tax from Northumbrian Water Environmental Trust and money from Phillips Petroleum. Pipe shelters for the birds were donated by Transco, and Hartlepool Ranger Service and Cleveland Countryside Service erected fencing at Crimdon and other potential breeding sites along the coast.

In 1999, the Crimdon colony experienced a major setback when virtually all its eggs were stolen by an illegal collector. Last year, after a blank year in 2000, the birds returned to Crimdon and produced 31 young.