A FALCON got in a flap when he was left hanging in the air seven storeys above the ground.

The juvenile peregrine falcon, nicknamed Metro, was rescued yesterday after he got stuck in netting suspended between the two towers of the Brighton Metropole Hotel on Kings Road.

He was spotted by a guest at the hotel and the RSPCA and fire service were called.

With help from a fireman on an aerial platform the bird was rescued and taken to the Mallydams Wood Wildlife Centre in Hastings to recover.

Metro, as he was nicknamed by the hotel’s staff, suffered feather damage but no breakages.

Tony Woodley, RSPCA inspector, said: “There was no way this young bird was going anywhere without help - he would just never have been able to free himself.

“It is the time of year when falcon parents are teaching their youngsters to fly and we think he could have got caught in the netting during one of his first lessons - either early this morning or late last night.

“We could see other birds circling and calling to him as he was stuck - possible his parents.”

It is thought the bird is part of a family of falcons living in the nearby Sussex Heights tower block.

Mr Woodley added: “We are very grateful to the fire service for their help getting this poor bird down - there’s just no way we would have been able to reach him otherwise.

“It was obviously a very stressful experience for him and he has suffered a lot of feather damage on one wing. But hopefully after some treatment and care we can get him well enough to go back to the wild.”

Metro is expected to make a full recovery to be released back into the wild.

To view the progress of the falcon family go to sussexheights.co.uk and click on the ‘Peregrines’ tab at the top of the page.