A bird of prey from a species rarely seen in Kent has died despite a rescue effort by several animal lovers.

Up to 10 onlookers watched with concern as an osprey landed in the front garden of a home in St Patrick's Road, Deal, on Wednesday evening.

A number of bird experts attended the property in a bid to help save it after it was found to be motionless and severely underweight.

They were eventually able to put the stricken osprey into an animal carrier before a member of Many Hoots Bird Rescue Centre took it away.

However, it was declared dead later that evening, weighing just 0.85kg.

Kelly Allaway was one of the many people to have attended earlier to help the bird, whose species she describes as "magnificent".

She said: "I saw what had happened on a Deal Facebook group and so wanted to help.

"The bird, though, was in a garden for an hour before being taken away and wasn't putting up any sort of resistance.

"Two women from Many Hoots who have experience in dealing with birds of prey caught it, but unfortunately it passed away not long after.

"We weren't sure whether it was a juvenile but those who picked it up said she should have been heavier."

Ospreys are birds of prey most typically seen in the UK in Scotland.

Also known as sea hawks, an adult is expected to weigh between 1.2kg and 2kg, plus have a wingspan of 145-170cm, according to the RSPB.

The charity says there are about 200-250 pairs throughout the UK.

Project lead at Bird Wise East Kent Greg Bessant says he has seen just one osprey during his two-and-a-half year spell working for the partnership.

Covering the Special Protection Area (SPA) of the Thanet Coast and Sandwich Bay, Mr Bessant says the bird was likely migrating towards Africa from Scotland.

The 26-year-old explained: "An osprey is 100% a rarity in this part of the country and I've only ever seen one in Kent.

"They don't stay here for long, especially during this time of year when they speed up even more to migrate to Africa for the winter period.

"Even though they have hollow bones, a weight for an osprey of 0.85kg is definitely underweight.

"I doubt she would have been involved in some sort of fight with another bird, but rather had an underlying condition as her claws and beak appeared in good health.

"It could have hit something, but a bird like an osprey flies a lot slower than most others.

"So I would assume it has struggled to feed itself, which, along with the underlying condition, has led to it passing away."