A young bird devastated by the loss of a relative has been helped by a West Cumbria animal sanctuary.

The fledgling looked lost after its relative appeared to have drowned when Times & Star photographer Tom Kay found the sad scene in his garage in Flimby.

Tom scooped up the bird, which was perched on the rim of a bucket and confused about what to do next, and transported it in an empty cardboard box to the Ani-Mel Haven animal sanctuary at the Bank Mill Visitor Centre in Beckfoot.

It has been helped to rest and recover by Mel James, who runs the sanctuary.

She said: “She can be released later on.

“I think she’s a mistle thrush but it’s hard to tell when they’re so young.”

Mistle thrushes are common across Europe, Asia and North Africa.