A bird has been nesting in the gun of a World War Two Spitfire at Eden Camp

Yorkshire's most famous military museum is so quiet that birds have been nesting in the gun ports of a Spitfire.
The blue tits are nesting in the cannon of the SpitfireThe blue tits are nesting in the cannon of the Spitfire
The blue tits are nesting in the cannon of the Spitfire

The pair of blue tits are raising their young inside the 20mm cannon of the decommissioned World War Two fighter aircraft at Eden Camp, near Malton.

The Spitfire is a static display aircraft and one of several restored heritage vehicles owned by the museum.

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Eden Camp has been closed to the public since March, and the local wildlife seem to be enjoying the peaceful atmosphere at the visitor-free site.

The gun port is just 20mm wideThe gun port is just 20mm wide
The gun port is just 20mm wide

The site originally consisted of 33 accommodation and mess huts for prisoners of war, mostly Italians and some Germans. Polish servicemen were also based at the camp for a time. and many of the POWS were sent to local farms to provide labour.

After the war, the site became accommodation for farm workers, and later passed into agricultural use. In the 1980s, there were plans to turn it into a crisp factory before a group of former Italian inmates contacted the landowner to ask if they could visit. It was eventually decided to convert the remaining huts into a museum about World War Two, which opened in 1987.

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The Spitfire on display at Eden CampThe Spitfire on display at Eden Camp
The Spitfire on display at Eden Camp
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