A £3 million scheme to refurbish East Farleigh Lock has been delayed several weeks by nesting birds.

Contractors working on behalf of the Environment Agency (EA) were forced to down tools on part of the construction site after the pair of grey wagtails made a nest and laid eggs.

The fowl have now fledged and flown the nest, but the completion date for the multi-million pound project has been set back to July 21.

Birds nests and their eggs are protected from being disturbed by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Flouting this rule can result in a six-month prison sentence and a maximum fine of £5,000.

Wagtails are known to raise at least two clutches of eggs and there were fears this could delay works even longer.

However posting on its Facebook page, the River Medway Users Association said they have now left the site.

They said: "The contractor has now been able to remove the nest.

"Work is officially going a full pace and we have confirmation that the lock should open to navigation on 21 July."

The EA is carrying out the first major maintenance work on East Farleigh Lock in more than 100 years as part of a comprehensive scheme to improve the waterway system.

It was due to finish by Easter, but a major structural problem was found in a large section of wall behind the left-hand lock gate, setting back the finish date by three months and sparking uproar in the boating community, who head to Medway in droves for the Sweeps Festival.

In its latest newsletter, a spokesman for the EA said: "We understand the impacts that the delay to the re-opening of East Farleigh Lock is currently having on the boating community and apologise for the ongoing inconvenience."