The fight broke out in the village of Darżyno, north Poland, when two intruding storks attempted to take over the nest.

As they swooped in to attack the chick who was too young to fly, the mother bird engaged them in combat.

In the bitter battle that followed, both she and the defenseless chick were seriously wounded and, according to reports, would not have survived unless being saved by human intervention.

Receiving reports of the assault from horrified locals, volunteer firemen from the nearby village of Łupawa, 7 km away, raced to the scene.

Scaling the electricity pole to reach the nest, the fire crew then lowered the injured storks in a bucket to members of the animal help foundation Buba, who took them to a vet.

The birds were then taken to a nearby rehabilitation center to recover.

As storks migrate to warmer countries at the end of August, the injured storks will not have time to recover and will be kept at the center until next year.