Mechanic Heinz Nieber got a surprise when he got to work on a broken-down camper van.
He discovered a nest complete with four eggs hidden under the bonnet.
The van belongs to electrical contractor Alan Rix, from Brighton Marina, who thinks a blackbird nested in his engine when he took his van on holiday to France in May.
He suspects the bird fled when he eventually started the engine after leaving the vehicle unused for weeks.
Mr Rix said: "I was so shocked when the garage told me."
John Whittington, 53, of Pfeiffer Associates in Hove, said: "Nobody working here has ever known anything like this."
Mr Rix said he would put the nest in his garden.
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