Motorists have been warned not to disturb nesting gulls which have set up a new home on the top of a town centre car park.

The herring gulls nest appeared earlier three weeks ago on the upper floor of the council run car park in Edinburgh Road, Ashford.

Council workers have set up cones and put up warning signs around the gulls, which cannot be removed because they are a protected species.

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But there are fears that motorists could soon face the wrath of the angry dive bombing parents once the chicks have hatched and start to explore their new surroundings.

Kentish Express wildlife expert Owen Leyshon, from the Romney Marsh Country Partnership, said it usually takes 20 days for the eggs to incubate and hatch.

He said: “After hatching, it will be another three or four weeks for the chicks to become fully fledged. Most herring gull chicks will wander around for a couple of weeks, usually at the start of July.

VIDEO: Seagull nests in a car park

“That’s usually when we start to get reports that parents are dive bombing because the chicks don’t stay in the nest.”

Mr Leyshon said that the birds can lay up to four eggs, but the average is usually for the gulls to have two chicks, depending on the food supply and the standard of parenting.

And neither does he think that this nest could be the last nest we see in Ashford, with potential for other birds to make nests in flat roofs around the town.

He added: “In the old days before we were building cities, they used to nest in the cliffs by the seaside, but what we’re seeing over the last 50 to 80 years is that they an adaptable species.

“They have moved into towns and cities where there is a food supply from rubbish and fast food.

“They are still a struggling species, but they are able to adapt and I would expect numbers to increase in towns like Ashford.”

He advised people not to pick up any chicks as the parents will often be flying overhead nearby, and advised the best thing to do would be to leave them well alone.

A council spokesman repeated this advice, urging motorists to steer clear and said a CCTV camera is monitoring the situation.