BIRD protection officers and police seized 70 eggs believed to come from protected breeds when they raided a home in County Durham this week.

Experts from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) now examining the haul say it could contain some rare specimens.

Officers from the society worked with officers from Crook police station to execute a warrant at a house in the town. They seized the eggs and other items, but no arrests were made.

Anyone found with eggs from the most endangered birds such as the golden eagle or the red kite can be fined up to £5,000 for each one. Eggs from other protected birds each carry a maximum £1,000 penalty.

RSPB investigator Chris Townend said there were thought to be about 300 active egg collectors in the country.

He said: "There is a hard core of people who systematically each year go out and target the rarest species. They travel hundreds of miles to find what they want.

"Just because they have one from every species that does not mean they won't go back for more because each egg is individual.

"They are generally not sold so there is no financial gain. It is purely an obsessional thing."