A SEABIRD so rare it had reportedly only ever been seen in Europe twice before, was discovered in Brean Down on Friday (June 29).

The Indian yellow-nosed albatross - one of only 73,000 left in the world - is classed as endangered by Bird Life International, the global organisation behind bird conservation, and had flown into town from the South Atlantic.

Bird enthusiast Hugh Harris alerted Secret World wildlife rescue in East Huntspill to the extraordinary discovery - after the bird landed at his home in Brean.

Hugh told the Weekly News that he found the bird, which has a wingspan of over two metres, looking exhausted as it walked around on his drive.

He said: "My wife and I couldn't believe it when we saw it, at first we thought it was just a large seagull or falmer.

"I picked the bird up and was surprised at how light it was - we then took it to Secret World where we were told what it was, and were absolutely dumbstruck."

Read more on this story, and discover more pictures in tomorrow's (Wednesday) Weekly News.