Alan Titchmarsh urges gardeners to leave piles of natural material on lawns

is a common issue in British gardens and can be a pain to get rid of – but presenter and garden expert reveals it can come in handy for one surprising reason.

After a period of wet, cool weather, moss can become rampant in your garden, taking over your grass and transforming it into a slippy nightmare. Even worse, it leeches nutrients from your soil and other plants. One of the most effective ways to get rid of mossy patches in your garden is to rake it up.

But this doesn’t mean your hard work has to go to waste. Instead of simply tossing your moss in the bin, you can actually use it to help birds build their nests.

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In a video posted to With Alan Titchmarsh, Alan says: “What you can do with [raked moss] is either put it straight on your compost heap or leave a few piles lying around the garden, because it’s great bird nesting material.”

Many birds will use moss to build their nests as it can easily be woven into the nest structure. It provides camouflage, comfort and insulation, particularly in cooler weather.

This is especially important for birds in the UK as their numbers have experienced a sharp decline over recent years. According to government , there has been a staggering 16% drop across all bird species in the UK since 1970.

This is due to several factors, but most notably is the loss in natural habitat due to farming practices. This also includes the use of harsh pesticides, which can harm birds and kill off their food supply.

Other ways that you can help birds is by setting up a bird feeder. This helps counteract the lack of natural vegetation for birds and encourages them to stay in your garden.

Some popular foods for birds include suet, nuts and seeds. This is because they contain high proportions of fat, which birds need to thrive in cooler weather.

Although be careful about where you place your bird feeder. The has advised: “place feeders up high, well above cat height and away from cat perches such as branches and walls.”

A study revealed that domestic cats kill between animals every year. Alarmingly, a quarter of which are birds.

In particular danger are small songbirds, like finches and robins. This means you need to be extra careful when leaving out food.