A Plumstead couple captured exceptional footage of a sparrowhawk hunting in their garden.

Teacher Josie Bell, 38, was relaxing in her home along Barth Road yesterday (August 27) when she spotted an unusual sight.

Ms Bell, who lives with her partner Keith Hawkins, 51, said: “We’d just sat down for the afternoon to have a cup of tea when we heard all the sparrows in the garden.

“There were about 10 or 11 sparrows at the feeding station at the back of the garden and they were chirping basically like people would do if something was happening.

“We looked outside and we saw its tail feathers, and it swooped through the garden.

“It came round and landed on the parasol, so we jumped up to have a look and we saw its head just chucking feathers around. The poor sparrow didn’t have a chance.”

MORE TOP STORIES They pair went upstairs for a better look, and managed to get some shots of the bird with a camera they keep close by.

Ms Bell added: “It was sat there totally destroying this poor sparrow.

“Then it flew up into the sycamore, it picked the sparrow up and flew into the tree.”

The couple added in their 16 years at the house they had only seen the bird three times.

She said: “We remember a few years ago it got a blackbird.

“It was quite magnificent; I suppose the sparrowhawk has to feed as well.

“It was definitely something out of the ordinary, it was quite interesting.”

Ian Hayward, from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said: “There are about 30 to 40 thousand breeding pairs in the UK but when you think pigeons are in the region of six million.

“They eat garden birds so they are seen in gardens from time to time. They’re quite territorial.

“As woodlands decline they’re increasingly being seen in gardens.”