Conservationists have released more than two dozen turtle doves in the South Downs National Park in a bid to help the species, which is on the brink of extinction in the UK, to recover.

The dove, famous for its place in the Twelve Days of Christmas song, is the country’s fastest declining bird species according to the RSPB.

In an attempt to boost population numbers, the national park authority released 30 birds in the Selborne area of Hampshire this spring.