Nesting kittiwakes have been part of Lowestoft's heritage for decades since becoming a familiar sight at the piers and the entrance to its port in the 1950s.

But the rare bids have been the cause of controversy as they make their annual return to the town due to the mess they leave behind.

And now a new booklet available in the town hopes to promote the visitors' merits and dispel some of the accusations levelled against them.

Shop owners have to spend time cleaning the mess left by the kittiwakes (Image: Denise Bradley)

Hugh Lake, a poet and former sub-postmaster, has taken a sympathetic view of the animals after writing a booklet from the perspective of two kittiwakes, Rita and Bill.

In the booklet, which is illustrated by Mr Lake's wife Rosie, the feathered friends describe their plight and the "bully" seagulls they are often mistaken for.

Hugh and Rosie Lake created the booklet raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (Image: Hugh Lake)

The protected birds live in the two 'hotels' completed offshore off South Beach in 2023 as artificial nesting structures for the Lowestoft seabirds.

Mr Lake, from Beccles, said: "I and one or two friends have regularly walked from Pakefield to South Pier for many years and watched the 'hotels' being built and tried to guess what they were for.

The booklet follows the story of Rita and Bill as they fly around Lowestoft (Image: Victoria Humphrey)

"We usually stop at the Hatfield Hotel for coffee and often hear people trying to guess their use as do friends coming to visit.

I tried to come up with a story to impart some information, hence Rita and Bill.

"I am not really interested in kittiwakes as such but I have become a bit more endeared since researching them for the booklet."

The offshore kittiwake hotels installed in Lowestoft (Image: Mick Howes)

The poet explained that Rita takes her name from the term Icelanders use for the bird.

The offshore hotel structures were constructed by energy company Ørsted as part of a compensation scheme associated with the Hornsea Tree wind farm.

Proceeds from the booklet, available from the Hatfield Hotel, Ferini Gallery and Beccles Books, will go towards the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

© Eastern Daily Press