A COUPLE of non-paying passengers on the St Mawes Ferry have returned to enjoy the high life after melting the hearts of the skipper and his crew.

The pair of freeloaders are not of the human variety, but are turnstones who are seasonal visitors to Britain from colder climes.

Named last year by St Mawes Ferry skipper John Brown (Topper) as Fred and Freda, the turnstones returned to St Mawes at the end of September and are expected to remain in the county until mid April.

They have become quite a talking point on the ferry which runs between Falmouth's Prince of Wales pier and St Mawes harbour on a daily basis.

Topper said: "They both normally board the ferry as it berths alongside the pier in Falmouth at 8.30am and have a breakfast of breadcrumbs before taking it over to St Mawes where they spend the day. At the end of the day, they catch the 4.15pm ferry back to Falmouth."

How they know the time of the last ferry still remains a mystery, but their names can regularly be found on the passenger log which is submitted to the ferry office each day.

Garrick Royle, operations manager of the ferry, said: "Turnstones are pretty popular at this time of year due to the warmer weather. They return to the Antarctic towards the end of April and breed during the summer months.

"Topper was over the moon to see Fred and Freda again - they seem to be very tame, probably due to the lack of human activity in the Antarctic.

"There seems to be a definite bond between the three of them," Garrick added.

Also known as Arenarialterpres, turnstones have a mottled appearance and spend most of their time creeping and fluttering over rocks, picking out food from under stones. They can also swim under water.

Topper added: "We always make sure our passengers know about Fred and Freda - some look as though they don't quite believe us, but many of our regulars see them each morning.

"The pair have been known to stray a little from their routine. This morning, for example, they got on for their breakfast in Falmouth, but hopped off when we started to leave. They stayed in Falmouth until the 10.15am ferry, then came over to St Mawes with us. During lunchtime they took a round trip on the ferry, returned to St Mawes for the afternoon, but caught the 2.45pm ferry back to Falmouth.