Waste plastic is one of the great hazards wildlife faces today.

It has been estimated that in some areas of ocean, the ratio of items of plastic to sea animals is an alarming six-to-one and that the throwaway material is having disastrous effects.

So it is heartening to hear of a case where waste plastic is helping to save creatures in distress.

At Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre on the Somerset Levels staff have discovered the ultimate wildlife-friendly use for bubble-wrap – it makes the perfect material for manmade nests designed to nurture baby fledglings which have been abandoned.

At this time of year, the sight of grounded baby birds that have fallen from nests is all too common.

The tiny creatures face a cruel fight against time as their body warmth drops and they begin to starve. Saving the fledglings can be a hit-and-miss affair, partly because they soon become too cold to survive even when they are offered warming food.

"We've found bubble-warp is the ideal material for keeping the baby birds warm," says Secret World's Debbie O'Keefe.

"We get a lot of tiny birds at this time of year, brought in by people who've been cutting hedges and that sort of thing, and disturbed the nests. Our advice is actually to wait and see if the parents come back and take care of the fledglings, but it is a problem because it is a fight against time.

"Once they are brought here they are fed every hour," says Debbie.

"It is very labour-intensive. We can have so many that by the time you've fed them all you are straight back to number one.

"The bubble-wrap is very useful for making a warm nest and helping the baby birds retain warmth.

"Our vets use it quite a lot as well when animals are coming around from an anaesthetic. It's great insulation."

Secret World will be opening its doors to the public for a special Wildlife Babies Weekend on May 29-31.

To find out more visit www.secretworld.org.