Under a nest: protected gulls roost on roof of Dorset police car

Officers are unable to clear the clump of twigs and branches as it is illegal to damage or destroy a nest under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Photograph: Graham Hunt/BNPS

You may think they have plenty of conventional spots – cliffs, islands, seaside rooftops, chimney pots – to nest on.

But a pair of herring gulls have opted to construct their nest on the roof of a Dorset police car, taking it out of action because they are a protected species and cannot be disturbed.