NATURE lovers who have been cleaning sea birds covered in ship oil are doing more harm than good, according to experts.

The past month has seen an increase in the number of oiled birds on the Kent coast such as deep-sea dweller Razor-bills and Guillimots.

This has led to concerned twitchers and conservationists catching the birds, washing them and releasing them back into the wild.

But a spokesman from the Dover-based Wildlife Care Line has said that the well-intentioned act is actually killing them.

She explained that the winter months between December and April usually bring an increase in oiled birds, but there has been a massive rise in the past month, which she attributes to the sunken Greek-registered Ice Prince off the Dorset coast in January.

On Sunday, 11 birds were found between Hythe and Ramsgate on the first tide.

The spokesman said: “The cleaning process takes about two months in total because it involves allowing the bird’s natural oils in their feathers to return before returning them to the wild.

“What we want people to do is catch them if they can with a towel or net, but we don’t want them to clean them.

“They have seen it on television that they need to be washed, but they don’t know how to do it properly.

“The birds are catching a chill and are just going down hill."

Anybody who finds a sea bird covered in ship oil is asked to try to catch it and keep it warm in a box before calling the Wildlife Care Line on 07801 248850 or the RSPCA on 08705 555 999.