Firefighter Will Lonsdale has hit upon a novel way of allowing nature lovers a glimpse of what goes on inside nesting boxes.

And his scheme to install tiny cameras inside the nests has also proved a business hit - his Camboxes have been selling like hot cakes.

Will, 32, came up with the idea after his mum had a hip replacement and a chance meeting with a reporter led to an article in Which? magazine.

Will, from Henfield, said: "The main reason for doing it was for my mother. She's always been into nature and conservation so I built her a nesting box but she had a hip replacement and said it would be good to see what was going on inside the box.

"I came up with the idea of putting a camera in there. It worked really well and I started making them for friends and family but then someone from Which? bought one and then approached me to put it in their magazine.

"They tested it in their labs and gave it a very good review. Last December, after the article came out, we sold 350 and to date we have sold more than 500."

Will, who is a firefighter in London, has roped both his mum and dad into helping with his flourishing business.

His dad's kitchen has been turned into a makeshift workshop and his mum answers the phone.

Will said: "We are just starting to get busy now as people buy them for Christmas presents and the winter roosting season is approaching."

The wooden nesting boxes are fitted with a black and white or a colour camera and built-in microphone.

If birds decide to nest in the box, people can watch and record it from the comfort of their armchair.

Will said: "It's incredible to watch but we did have a problem once. My girlfriend's mum has got one but the father of a family of blue tits died inside the nesting box.

"The mother had not returned for some time and the babies were on their own. We phoned a bird sanctuary.

"The woman there was very helpful but said we couldn't do anything for them because they were so young. I inquired about putting them into my mum's box, which already had about six chicks. Luckily the mother in my mum's box fed them and they all flew the nest."

Will, who intends to remain a firefighter and develop the boxes in his spare time, said he never expected them to be such a hit with the public.

He said: "There was quite a lot of testing involved before we came up with a working model.

"We have gone from using a black and white camera to a colour camera. I am also now looking at developing other wildlife cameras and underwater cameras to be used to observe wildlife.

"A school has approached me because they have built a nature reserve in the grounds and they want cameras to view the birds, rabbits and deer."

Will said he tried to keep costs down as much as possible to keep the basic Cambox at £100. He had been approached by schools about using it for educational purposes but many, because of tight budgets, had not been able to buy one so he was creating a monthly payment scheme.

For more information, log on to www.cambox.co. uk or email w.lonsdale@talk21.com