Fourteen wild birds were found trapped in a cage in a Kent home.

Frantisek Fercak used sticks coated in glue to trap animals as they ate from feeders in his garden in Albion Terrace, Gravesend.

Now the 50-year-old from the Czech Republic must pay £850, including a £500 fine, after admitting five charges contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

RSPCA inspector Cliff Harrison, who led an investigation into the bird keeper, said: “When we visited Mr Fercak’s home on 8 September along with Kent Police we found 13 goldfinches being kept in little cages around his home as well as one siskin.

“Sadly, we also found one goldfinch who had died. These wild birds can’t cope in captivity and become very distressed being shut in cages. They don’t understand the concept of being confined and, tragically, they often die.

“As well as the birds, we also found various tools at his home that suggest he was also trapping the birds himself.

“A bird feeder in the garden as well as twigs attached to the seed holders were covered in a glue-like substance. This is a tactic we’ve seen before by bird trappers who are trying to attract the birds to food and then capture them.

“We found an open tube of rodent glue nearby. Not only is it illegal to trap these birds but the RSPCA also has real concerns about these glue products that are used to catch any bird or animal as they can be extremely painful and distressing for animals who get stuck in them, and can cause them to die slow, agonising deaths.”

Three cages were found in the living room, each containing a number of birds. The birds were removed and later released back into the wild.

When asked about the birds, Fercak said they were his and he’d bought them back from his country.

At Medway Magistrates' Court on Monday, Fercak pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing live wild birds, possessing a dead wild bird, using bird lime for the purpose of taking a wild bird and possessing things capable of being used for taking a wild bird — namely glue sticks, a bird feeder stand coated in glue and a cage trap.