A kind-hearted workman has saved a family of swallow chicks from an almost certain death after spotting their nest on the chassis of an HGV trailer.
Gary MacKenzie came to the rescue after watching the adult swallows diving in and out of the wheel arch of the artic lorry.
After closer inspection, the 51 year-old forklift driver noticed the nest precariously resting on part of the chassis – meaning it could have been destroyed had the trailer moved.
The trailer, which is used for rubbish and refuse at the yard in Inverurie, had become home to the migratory birds a couple of weeks ago.
Mr MacKenzie, from Colpy, decided to step in and save the swallows by moving the nest onto a piece of wood under the wheel arch, which could be shifted before the trailer was towed away.
He said: “They had just started to build the nest when I noticed it, so I went and took my knife and cut it away from the chassis and moved it onto a piece of plywood.
“That way I could move the wood if the trailer had to be towed away and it wouldn’t have been taken away from the birds.
“If I hadn’t moved it, it would have been destroyed.”
He said the pair of swallows had not been upset by his presence, and continued to build the nest after it was moved and laid eggs.
He added: “Luckily the five chicks hatched last Sunday and the trailer was taken away on Thursday.
“We have a lot of swallows in the rafters of the buildings but I’ve never seen that happen before and I was so pleased when I saw the eggs had hatched.”