Anger as swifts’ nesting holes in Derbyshire rail viaduct ‘blocked up’

Campaigners say birds could die trying to access ancestral nests that were sealed during rail refurbishment

Some swifts returning to Britain to breed will be unable to access their ancestral nesting holes after they were blocked in a 7.5m refurbishment of a Derbyshire railway viaduct, campaigners say.

Nature lovers had appealed to Network Rail to unblock three holes which were among at least nine swift nesting sites on the twin viaducts at Chapel Milton, on the edge of the Peak District.