‘Swan Whisperer' who ‘cuddled and kissed' birds BANNED from London park after ramming concerned woman with bike

The Sun

10 hours ago

A HOMELESS "swan whisperer" has been banned from entering Hyde Park after a row erupted over his relationship with the park's swans.
Anders Fernstedt, 57, had a furious row with a woman after she complained about him kissing and cuddling the birds.
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Bird lovers saw Anders, who sleeps rough on the doorstep of a mansion in Knightsbridge, picking up, kissing and stroking the swans.
They took issue with Anders "interfering" with the protected species at the Round Pond near Kensington Palace.
Anders got into an altercation with two individuals who tried to stop him from kissing the birds, ramming his bicycle into one of them after she refused to stop filming him.
The incident in 2023 saw Virginia Grey, a local resident, and Jon Ferguson, a swan volunteer, confront Anders.
Grey filmed the argument and when she refused to stop Anders branded her "Hitler" before ramming his bicycle into her.
Jon Ferguson then tried to apprehend Anders with the two ending up in a fight, rolling around on the ground.
Mr Ferguson reportedly required stitches on the inside of his mouth and painkillers after the scrap.
Following the tussle on the ground between the two men Anders came back and attacked Ferguson again, kicking him in the ribs and torso.
The incident saw the "swan whisperer" appear at Southwark crown court charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was found guilty of the charge by a jury and has been handed a 15-month community order with a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Watch as Dublin Fire Brigade crew rescue swan found wandering in city centre traffic
The judge also imposed a restraining order on Anders preventing him from entering Kensington Gardens or Hyde Park and stopping him from contacting Ferguson or Grey for two years.
Anders was well known in the local community, dubbed the "swan whisperer" by residents.
Some time ago he began living on the front steps of a £210 million mansion on Rutland Gate.
Residents have reportedly given him books, trinkets and clothes, its said he has even been gifted a Hugo Boss tracksuit, a £500 Armani jacket and a Savile Row overcoat.
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Anders represented himself in court and cross-examined Grey, asking why she was concerned about his interactions with the swans.
Grey said: "Birds go to anybody who has food. If you go regularly enough they recognise you.
'They will always come over looking for food. It is not because they think you are fantastic.
"But you stroke them, you cuddle them, you kiss them, you pick them up. That is interfering with wildlife, and disturbing them. It is not natural.'
In passing sentence the judge, David Etherington, said: 'Mr Ferguson tried to apprehend you but in doing so he fell backward and pulled you over onto the ground and there was a tussle on the ground.
"You then came back and further assaulted him, clearly with blows to the face and he says by kicking his ribcage and torso.'
Etherington added when explaining how the argument began: "The sad thing is all three of you have an interest in the welfare of birds but different views about how this should be achieved.'
Mr Ferguson reportedly warned Anders about touching the swans several times, siting an outbreak of avian flu.
Anders ignored the swan volunteers warnings and continued to play with the swans.
He denied the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Bird flu: Could it be the next human pandemic?
By Isabel Shaw, Health Reporter
The H5N1 bird flu is running rampant in wildlife around the world and is now spreading in cows.
In recent months, it infected people in Canada and the US leaving them severely unwell.
This increase in transmission has given the virus lots of opportunities to mutate - a process where a pathogen changes and can become more dangerous.
Scientists fear it's only a matter of time before one of these mutations makes it better at spreading among mammals - and potentially humans.
Experts recently discovered that H5N1 is already just one mutation away from developing the ability to transmit person-to-person communication.
Some experts believe the virus could already be spreading among some animal species.
So far, there is no evidence that H5N1 can spread between humans.
But in the hundreds of cases where humans have been infected through contact with animals over the past 20 years, the mortality rate is high.
From 2003 to 2024, 889 cases and 463 deaths caused by H5N1 have been reported worldwide from 23 countries, according to the World Health Organisation.
This puts the case fatality rate at 52 per cent.
Leading scientists have already warned an influenza is the pathogen most likely to trigger a new pandemic in the near future.
The prospect of a flu pandemic is alarming.
Although scientists have pointed out that vaccines against many strains, including H5N1, have already been developed, others are still in the pipeline.