Latest news with #Housden
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hawk that attacked bald men is adopted by a bald man
A Harris Hawk that attacked bald men in a village has been adopted by a bald man. The bird of prey, nicknamed 'Bomber Harris', attacked over 50 people in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, during a four-week reign of terror in March. A falconer who helped trap the hawk previously told The Telegraph the bird 'saw bald men' and attacked them because it was 'hormonal'. But the bird has now been adopted by Wayne Housden, a falconer who has recently had a buzz cut. The 58-year-old village warden told The Telegraph that Bomber had changed – pointing to the fact he could shave his head without fear of attack. 'If you looked at me now, you'd say, 'he's bald',' Mr Housden said. 'I'm not worried about him. I've shaved my head and, when I shaved it, it was to the bone. 'But I go into his aviary and he doesn't attack me.' Mr Housden, who lives near Flamstead, described his new friend as 'really tame', adding: 'He wasn't terrible. He was more scared than anything when he was caught. 'I can kiss him on the head. He nibbles around my neck and on my chin... He's so friendly to me. He's obsessed with me.' For four weeks last year Flamstead ground to a halt. Postmen stopped delivering mail, fearful scaffolders left work unfinished and villagers would not dare leave their homes without a hat, umbrella or hooded coat to protect themselves. The siege was finally brought to an end when Steve Harris, 40, threw a cage over the bird after it followed him into his back garden. The physiotherapist and father-of-two, who had been returning from a run, told The Telegraph that he and his children had not been in their garden for 'weeks and weeks' because of the attacks. Credit: BBC/Roy Lambden Mr Housden, who also owns another falcon, said that he had decided to adopt the bird after the police contacted him for help. Bomber is now housed in a new £1,000 aviary which was built by Mr Housden. The falconer said the idea that the bird might attack someone again was 'always in the back of your head' but added that 'he's got to go loose'. He said that he has already started taking Bomber on excursions, including a visit to his friend's house. 'He's calmed down', Mr Housden added. 'He needed to calm down.' Asked whether he thought the bird was misunderstood, he said: 'Yes he was. 'He's going to be going to a scarecrow festival in Flamstead and he will end up meeting everyone that he's hit on the head, so they will all see how he's changed.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Hawk that terrorised village given forever home
A Harris's hawk that terrorised a village for at least a month has found a forever home with a local falconer. The bird of prey was blamed for dive-bombing attacks on about 50 people in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, including in one case where a man was taken to hospital. Nicknamed "Bomber Harris", the hawk was eventually captured last month and has since been trained by falconer Wayne Housden. He said the story had reached a happy ending, with the wayward bird having "calmed right down". LISTEN: A new life for the hawk that attacked people The hawk's behaviour was likely hormonal or territorial and he was "not nasty at all", Mr Housden added. The spate of attacks began in March, with people in the village, south of Luton, claiming the belligerent bird had a penchant for diving on "tall men". In one case a runner was left "bloodied and bruised", while an innovative 91-year-old tied his new hat to his head with a shoelace after two were clawed off him. Royal Mail admitted the havoc caused by the hawk had disrupted its postal deliveries. The attacks became more serious when an elderly man had to be treated in hospital after the bird drew blood when swooping on him. The bombing was even caught on camera - but the Harris's hawk was eventually captured a month later, fittingly by a Mr Harris. At one stage there were discussions about the rogue bird having to be euthanised. He was eventually handed to Mr Housden, who has worked with birds of prey for about 30 years. The falconer revealed how his first priority was to stabilise his new feathered friend - and promptly spent about £1,000 building an aviary. Mr Housden told the BBC he would take Bomber Harris to the popular Flamstead Scarecrow Festival in August. He plans to keep the hawk full-time and hopes to be able to let him fly loose in the autumn - when he will hopefully come back again. Mr Housden said the hawk - a non-native South American species - was likely a captive-bred bird that had lost its falconer. He said the dried-out leather tags on its feet suggested it had been loose for more than a year. He had not been contacted by anyone claiming to be its owner, Mr Housden said. "If I was to let someone else have him, I would have wanted to stay in contact with him," he added. "He's been failed once and he is not going to be failed again." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Dive-bombing hawk taken for retraining Tormenting Harris's hawk is captured by Mr Harris Pensioner treated in hospital after hawk attack 'A hawk has taken two hats from my head' Hawk attack leaves runner 'bloodied and bruised' Hawk attacks blamed for disrupting village's post Hawk attacks 'at least a dozen people' in village BBC Three Counties: A new life for the hawk that attacked people
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Councillor accused of forging loan signatures
A Gloucestershire county councillor obtained loans of £150,000 for a social club by lying about documents and forging signatures, it is alleged. Senior members of the Carlton Club in Stroud claim councillor Nick Housden, who represents the Stonehouse district, forged signatures and lied about the nature of application forms to four committee members in order to secure several loans from the Association of Conservative Clubs (ACC). The club's managing director said it has left the business with "crushing" amounts of debt and almost forced it to close. Mr Housden, who is standing as an independent candidate in the county council election on 1 May, said he "absolutely denies" the accusations and believes it is a "politically motivated" attack. More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire Mr Housden became chair of the Carlton Club in May 2023. Documents seen by the BBC show the first application to the ACC, which supports Conservative affiliated social clubs across the UK, was made in March last year for £80,000. Two subsequent applications for £42,000 and £14,000 were made in August and September of the same year, to be paid back over ten years at a rate of 6.75% interest. However, the board members, who have asked not to be named, claim Mr Housden told them the ACC had given them £80,000 in grants to carry out improvements to the building, which the club was not expected to pay back. Invoices and quotes show £62,303 was spent on repairing the club roof and patio area, but managing director, Jamie Stewart, who entered the business after Mr Housden left, said almost £90,000 may have gone on expenditure that was not authorised by the club or which may otherwise be unaccounted for. He is concerned it may have been used to help fund a seemingly "lavish lifestyle" including payment for cars and eating in restaurants. The BBC has seen bank statements featuring various payments board members say were unauthorised, including £5,000 to a motor company, £4,000 to DFS, and hundreds of pounds to menswear stores. "We don't really know what the money was used for," Mr Stewart added. "He seemed to eat at a lot of restaurants, he used to get fast food a tremendous amount of the time on the company card. "[This is] explicitly something you're not allowed to do. This is a non-profit club, so all of the money, the profits, need to go back into the actual running of the club." The three ACC loan applications feature the signatures of a mixture of four board members alongside Mr Housden. Each have told the BBC they did not knowingly sign the applications. Two claim they only ever signed one document which may have been for what they believed to be the ACC grant application. Two others said they did not sign any financial forms, with one saying his nickname appears on two of the applications even though he only signs official documents with his legal name. Mr Housden said he never forged or lied about loan documents. He said he had the agreement of members to set up a limited company to run the club of which he was the sole director, so all decisions about loan agreements or how money was spent was down to him. "Every penny that came in and out of the club was accounted for and is in the accounts," he added. "There's no missing money. Everything that came in was spent on the things that we said it was spent on. "There is no club money. All finances in and out were done through the limited company and I'm the only one who can control those." The club claims it never agreed that Mr Housden could set up a company to run the business and it's rules state all financial decisions have to be made through the committee. Mr Housden was kicked out of the Gloucestershire Conservative group last October after a spokesperson said it was made "aware of allegations made against" him. These allegations were never made public. Mr Housden was officially asked to leave his role as chair of the Carlton Club in November once details of the loans came to light. Mr Stewart said the 34-year-old left the business in a financially precarious state. "We have been left in incredible, crushing amounts of debt." he added. "We're starting to hit that recovery point, but it's a long road, it's tough. "I think it's a miracle that the club survived." The manager is now urging the police to thoroughly investigate the claims. In a statement, Gloucestershire Constabulary said it is investigating... following a report made by an organisation in Stroud. "A person has been voluntarily interviewed in connection with the case," a spokesperson added. "Enquiries are ongoing." The ACC has declined to comment. A full list of candidates standing in Stonehouse and across Gloucestershire in the county council elections on 1 May can be found here. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
BBC News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Gloucestershire councillor accused of forging loan signatures
A Gloucestershire county councillor obtained loans of £150,000 for a social club by lying about documents and forging signatures, it is members of the Carlton Club in Stroud claim councillor Nick Housden, who represents the Stonehouse district, forged signatures and lied about the nature of application forms to four committee members in order to secure several loans from the Association of Conservative Clubs (ACC).The club's managing director said it has left the business with "crushing" amounts of debt and almost forced it to Housden, who is standing as an independent candidate in the county council election on 1 May, said he "absolutely denies" the accusations and believes it is a "politically motivated" attack. Loans Vs Grants Mr Housden became chair of the Carlton Club in May seen by the BBC show the first application to the ACC, which supports Conservative affiliated social clubs across the UK, was made in March last year for £80, subsequent applications for £42,000 and £14,000 were made in August and September of the same year, to be paid back over ten years at a rate of 6.75% the board members, who have asked not to be named, claim Mr Housden told them the ACC had given them £80,000 in grants to carry out improvements to the building, which the club was not expected to pay and quotes show £62,303 was spent on repairing the club roof and patio area, but managing director, Jamie Stewart, who entered the business after Mr Housden left, said almost £90,000 may have gone on expenditure that was not authorised by the club or which may otherwise be unaccounted for. He is concerned it may have been used to help fund a seemingly "lavish lifestyle" including payment for cars and eating in BBC has seen bank statements featuring various payments board members say were unauthorised, including £5,000 to a motor company, £4,000 to DFS, and hundreds of pounds to menswear stores."We don't really know what the money was used for," Mr Stewart added."He seemed to eat at a lot of restaurants, he used to get fast food a tremendous amount of the time on the company card."[This is] explicitly something you're not allowed to do. This is a non-profit club, so all of the money, the profits, need to go back into the actual running of the club."The three ACC loan applications feature the signatures of a mixture of four board members alongside Mr have told the BBC they did not knowingly sign the claim they only ever signed one document which may have been for what they believed to be the ACC grant others said they did not sign any financial forms, with one saying his nickname appears on two of the applications even though he only signs official documents with his legal name. 'No missing money' Mr Housden said he never forged or lied about loan said he had the agreement of members to set up a limited company to run the club of which he was the sole director, so all decisions about loan agreements or how money was spent was down to him."Every penny that came in and out of the club was accounted for and is in the accounts," he added."There's no missing money. Everything that came in was spent on the things that we said it was spent on."There is no club money. All finances in and out were done through the limited company and I'm the only one who can control those."The club claims it never agreed that Mr Housden could set up a company to run the business and it's rules state all financial decisions have to be made through the committee. Close to closure Mr Housden was kicked out of the Gloucestershire Conservative group last October after a spokesperson said it was made "aware of allegations made against" him. These allegations were never made Housden was officially asked to leave his role as chair of the Carlton Club in November once details of the loans came to Stewart said the 34-year-old left the business in a financially precarious state."We have been left in incredible, crushing amounts of debt." he added."We're starting to hit that recovery point, but it's a long road, it's tough."I think it's a miracle that the club survived."The manager is now urging the police to thoroughly investigate the claims. 'Enquiries are ongoing' In a statement, Gloucestershire Constabulary said it is investigating... following a report made by an organisation in Stroud."A person has been voluntarily interviewed in connection with the case," a spokesperson added."Enquiries are ongoing."The ACC has declined to comment.A full list of candidates standing in Stonehouse and across Gloucestershire in the county council elections on 1 May can be found here.
