Three rescued falcons which were unable to fly south for the winter have winged it to Spain on a jet plane.

Romeo, Juliet and their unnamed feathered friend were given a first-class ticket to help their migration.

Instead of a three-week trip, the trio of hobbies made the journey in just two hours.

The birds were accompanied by Debbie Davenport, of the Horsham-based Care for the Wild Defence Fund, and a falconer from Hurrans Falconry Centre in the West Midlands.

The hobbies were painstakingly nursed back to health at the centre, near Kidderminster, and staff waved them off yesterday.

Centre partner Patricia Neal said: "The first bird to arrive with us last August was Romeo. He had severe feather damage and we think he could have been attacked by a cat or a sparrowhawk.

"Then we received a female and named her Juliet. We think somebody may have taken her illegally because she had wing damage as if she had been kept in an aviary.

"Two or three months ago, the other female arrived. She was exhausted."

Romeo and Juliet were the talk of the rescue centre, although members of the public were kept away to ensure the birds did not become humanised.

They were fed locusts and dragonflies but, despite their careful nursing, Mrs Neal said neither they nor their new friend were well enough to make the flight unaided.

The defence fund arranged free flights for the birds of prey via Stansted with the airline Britannia.