A nature lover has captured incredible pictures of a kingfisher catching newts, writes Dean Murray.

Photographer Martin Yelland set up a camera trap at a river near his Cornwall home to document the colourful birds.

He says: “Our local female kingfisher has exclusively been eating newts for the past two months. This is something I’ve not seen in my eight years of watching and documenting kingfishers in west Cornwall.

“I set up a digital camera attached to a passive infrared motion sensor, using a wide-angle lens. I made a waterproof box, camouflaged it up, and added a nice perch in front of the camera. This perch is very attractive to the local kingfisher pair, who sleep, preen, and kill their prey on it, usually on a daily basis.

“Photographing kingfisher this way gives an intimate insight into their behaviour, and the perch is in keeping with their natural surroundings, and helps them to catch their prey as it’s an ideal height above the water level.”

The pictures were taken between St Erth and St Ives.