A PUFFIN has died days after being found “hungry and exhausted” at a Hampshire sexual health clinic.

The distressed young bird died at an animal welfare centre four days after being discovered at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.

Although it is not known how the male juvenile puffin came to be in Hampshire, it is thought he might have been blown off course on his first migration south for the winter.

It was found cowering at the bottom of a flight of steps to a basement building at the hospital on Wednesday.

The seabird was retrieved by RSPCA inspector Jan Edwards and taken to the Hart Wildlife Rescue centre near Alton to be cared for, and was initially said to have been improving as it was fed on fish.

Centre manager Charmian Greenland-Jones said: “There were no signs of injury and he seemed to be just very hungry and exhausted. “We were delighted when he quickly devoured some fish we had in stock and became much more feisty.

“Everyone is naturally very upset as he appeared to be doing so well.

“We had just sourced some sand eels specially for him, and plans had been made for his transfer to the South Devon Seabird Trust at Teignmouth.”

Puffins head from northern Britain to the Bay of Biscay in the winter, and it had been hoped the lost puffin could have been released to continue its flight, or kept until March to join others returning north to their breeding colonies.

The birds are common across northern Europe, but are on the amber list of UK birds of conservation concern.

They often live for 20 years and do not reach breeding age until the age of five or six years old.

This was the first puffin cared for at Hart, which has this year taken in more than 1,500 sick, injured and abandoned animals and birds.

The centre, at Medstead, between Alresford and Alton, is on the verge of closing to new admissions because of high demand.