Picture: Morgan Caygill

Twitchers have been chasing an incredibly rare bird visitor to Britain.

A belted kingfisher has been spotted near the River Ribble in Preston, Lancashire.

The bird had previously been seen just three times in the 118 years.

Unlike its iridescent cousin the common kingfisher, the belted has a white band around its neck.

Morgan Caygill, a twitcher from Otley, West Yorkshire, tweeted:

“Belted kingfisher still on the Ribble this morning, shaking with excitement.”

The Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trusts said:

“Although this is very exciting and we understand many of you will want to catch a glimpse of this rare bird, we urge everyone to use caution when trying to access this section of the river and encourage all our visitors to keep to the paths.”