FOUR Dorset care homes are taking expert advice from the RSPB to help reverse a decline in numbers of the house sparrow in Britsh gardens.

Queensmount Nursing and Residential Home in Bournemouth, the Mellowes Nursing Home in Gillingham and two other homes in Bridport are making Save the Sparrow the focus of Bupa’s annual Wildlife Week from May 7 to 13.

Bupa’s community and partnership manager Siobhan Drane said: “Everyone enjoys seeing a cheeky sparrow in gardens – but this much loved British bird needs our help.

“We’re asking everyone to join the campaign, either by offering a helping hand to our green-fingered residents or by making their own gardens more bird-friendly.”

Numbers of house sparrows have fallen by 55 per cent since the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch survey began in 1979.