There was much excitement on the moat at the Bishop's Palace in Wells this morning (May 2) as the first cygnets hatched on the nest of the famous palace swans.

Two avid Swan Cam fans noticed movement on the nest around 9am this morning and notified the palace via Facebook and email.

The arrival was duly confirmed by Moira Anderson, who cares for the palace swans, from the office.

She was able to capture the two cygnets born this morning along with a newly hatched sibling at around 1.30pm.

The palace swans, Grace and Gabriel, have created a nest adjacent to the moat and right by the door to the office of the Palace Trust, which is the charity that runs the Bishop's Palace, so staff will be able to keep a close eye on the activity in the nest.

This year, Grace laid at least six eggs, so more cygnets are expected to appear over the next few days.

Viewers can enjoy watching the nest at any time of day or night via the 24-hour Swan Cam, which can be found at the bottom of the home page of the palace website, and if they are lucky, they might just spot a cygnet hatching.