Latest news with #LouiseWhittle
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Terrifying moment dive-bombing buzzard attacks woman in her dressing gown and slippers - as bird of prey's reign of terror forces primary school pupils inside at break times
This is the terrifying moment a buzzard swoops down and attacks a woman in her dressing gown and slippers, as the bird continues to terrorise a village. The bird has terrorised villagers in Havering-atte-Bower for months and has forced one local primary school to temporarily ban pupils from going outside during break time. The buzzard, nicknamed Brenda by local school children is believed to be part of a mating pair. Local resident and parent Louise Whittle, narrowly missed being injured by the buzzard, while in her dressing gown and slippers. Footage shows the moment a buzzard flies down from the roof of a nearby house, appearing to aim for the mum's head. She quickly ducks and manages to run away from the bird, which landed on a fence nearby. Louise said: 'It's absolutely bonkers that there is a buzzard attacking people.' Children at Dame Tipping Primary School have been forced to stay inside since Easter through fear of injury by the bird of prey, believed to be part of a mating pair. But, as buzzards are protected, the school says 'nothing which can be done' beyond the outdoor ban. Louise said the school has handled the issue 'brilliantly'. She added: 'The school have been absolutely fantastic in prioritising the children's safety and finding other alternatives for getting out. 'If anything, it's been a great learning experience for the children - they have learnt all about buzzards that they otherwise wouldn't have done.' However, Louise added that she is still concerned that 'the birds are being prioritised over the children' and said she is 'hopeful that they fly away so everyone can get back to normal'. Headteacher Stella McCarthy said the 'difficult decision' to keep the children inside was made after the birds became 'highly present' in the playground. She said: 'As a school, safeguarding and protecting children is of paramount importance.' The school has decided to use the situation as a learning experience for pupils, who have created posters promoting the protection of birds. Headteacher Ms McCarthy added: 'Luckily, as part of LIFE Education Trust, we have had excellent support enabling us to use the trust mini bus to regularly visit The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls where our children have engaged in outdoor learning activities, PE lessons and visited the school's farm. 'We have also introduced additional indoor breaks with lots of engaging activities including traditional board games, cup stacking competitions and puzzles.' The bird also dive-bombed on local resident Nikki Dix, 37, as she took a walk in the park. Ms Dix said she was 'dead shocked' when the bird attacked her from behind and left scratches on her head. She said: 'I was scared, I was taken back by it. 'He was giving me an evil eye so then I carried on my journey for quite a while just swinging my bag above my head because I was just like 'hopefully this will deter him from coming to get me, because if he does try again to get me maybe he won't be so nice'. 'Nothing like that normally gets me so I'm a little bit on high alert at the moment, that's why I've stayed away from that area as well.' The school has been liaising with Havering Council and various bird organisations to find solutions to the issue. The council said its health and safety team has provided the school's trust with 'detailed advice' on legal deterrents and the hiring of a falconry expert. A Havering Council spokesperson said: 'The RSPCA has advised that the buzzard may be protecting its nest or chicks, which lines up with the information we have received. 'Buzzards are protected under UK law, therefore our intervention options are very limited, and we have advised that warning signs would be the easiest solution at this time. 'We completely understand how difficult and worrying this situation is for the school and local residents and we regret that there is not a quick or straightforward solution.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- General
- Scottish Sun
Moment woman is ATTACKED by dive-bombing buzzard terrorising town as primary school bans kids playing outside
DRAMATIC footage shows the moment a woman is attacked by a dive-bombing buzzard. Sparking havoc in Havering, East London, the terrorising bird even spurred a village primary school to ban children from playing outside. 6 The bird of prey swooped in on a woman outside of her house Credit: SWNS 6 Louise Whittle narrowly avoided the dive-bombing bird Credit: SWNS 6 Louise is caught ducking to avoid the bird Credit: SWNS The video - which was caught on a door cam - depicts the shocking moment local Louise Whittle narrowly avoids being clipped by the swooping buzzard. The bird-of-prey is seen flying about an inch away from the woman's head. Still dressed in her dressing gown, the unsuspecting resident is seen ducking, before running away from the animal. Havering Council has since advised students from Dame Tipping Primary School nearby to stay inside due to raised concerns about the buzzard. Read more on News ROAD TRIPS Land Rover Defender and Airstream could be yours in Omaze Early Bird Prize Draw Head teacher Stella McCarthy said the school was taking children to a nearby outdoor area instead. She added that staff were trying to "embrace" the situation as a "learning experience" for the children. She told the BBC: "We had to think about how to risk assess this... it's quite an unusual situation, having to risk assess a buzzard. "We tried our nearer playground areas thinking they would be safe, but soon discovered that Brenda was quite attracted to children playing outside." A bird of prey expert, Ross Hicking, has also visited the school to help educate the students about the buzzard's behaviour. He brought with him a Chilean blue buzzard eagle called Guido. Cyclist repeatedly attacked by dive-bombing buzzard after riding past nest on country lane According to Ross, the buzzard is likely acting aggressively because she has a nest nearby because most of the time they would tend to avoid people. Another factor, he added, could be the suburban environment, which means the bird could be more comfortable around humans. The council said: "Our health and safety team have provided detailed advice to the academy trust responsible for the school, including the use of legal deterrents and other controls. "We completely understand how difficult and worrying this situation is for the school and local residents and we regret that there is not a quick or straightforward solution." Havering Council said the RSPCA had advised that the buzzard may be protecting its nest or chicks. The council has also suggested hiring a falconry expert who may be able to deter the aggressive bird. But as buzzards are a protected species under UK law, "intervention options are very limited". It comes after a man was attacked by a dive-bombing hawk in a quiet village leaving him bloodied and hospitalised earlier this year. The Harris's hawk was captured on camera after a string of attacks in the sleepy Hertfordshire village of Flamstead. Residents resorted to wearing helmets or hats to protect themselves from the dive-bombing bird of prey. Jim Hewitt, 75, also from Flamstead, was left bloodied when it swooped on him as he went to get milk and a newspaper. 6 The buzzard was nicknamed Brenda by the children Credit: SWNS 6 Dame Tipping Primary School children have been banned from playing outside Credit: SWNS
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- The Irish Sun
Moment woman is ATTACKED by dive-bombing buzzard terrorising town as primary school bans kids playing outside
DRAMATIC footage shows the moment a woman is attacked by a dive-bombing buzzard. Sparking havoc in Havering, East London, the terrorising bird even spurred a village primary school to ban children from playing outside. 6 The bird of prey swooped in on a woman outside of her house Credit: SWNS 6 Louise Whittle narrowly avoided the dive-bombing bird Credit: SWNS 6 Louise is caught ducking to avoid the bird Credit: SWNS The video - which was caught on a door cam - depicts the shocking moment local Louise Whittle narrowly avoids The Still dressed in her dressing gown, the unsuspecting resident is seen ducking, before running away from the animal. Havering Council has since advised students from Dame Tipping Primary School nearby to stay inside due to raised concerns about the buzzard. Read more on News Head teacher Stella McCarthy said the school was taking children to a nearby outdoor area instead. She added that staff were trying to "embrace" the situation as a "learning experience" for the children. She told the "We tried our nearer playground areas thinking they would be safe, but soon discovered that Brenda was quite attracted to children playing outside." Most read in The Sun A bird of prey expert, Ross Hicking, has also visited the school to help educate the students about the buzzard's behaviour. He brought with him a Chilean blue buzzard eagle called Guido. Cyclist repeatedly attacked by dive-bombing buzzard after riding past nest on country lane According to Ross, the buzzard is likely acting aggressively because she has a nest nearby because most of the time they would tend to avoid people. Another factor, he added, could be the suburban environment, which means the bird could be more comfortable around humans. The council said: "Our health and safety team have provided detailed advice to the academy trust responsible for the school, including the use of legal deterrents and other controls. "We completely understand how difficult and worrying this situation is for the school and local residents and we regret that there is not a quick or straightforward solution." Havering Council said the RSPCA had advised that the buzzard may be protecting its nest or chicks. The council has also suggested hiring a falconry expert who may be able to deter the aggressive bird. But as buzzards are a protected species under UK law, "intervention options are very limited". It comes after a The Harris's hawk was captured on camera after a string of attacks in the sleepy Hertfordshire village of Flamstead. Residents resorted to wearing helmets or hats to protect themselves from the dive-bombing bird of prey. Jim Hewitt, 75, also from Flamstead, was left bloodied when it swooped on him as he went to get milk and a newspaper. 6 The buzzard was nicknamed Brenda by the children Credit: SWNS 6 Dame Tipping Primary School children have been banned from playing outside Credit: SWNS 6 The buzzard has caused havoc in the East London area Credit: SWNS
The Sun
2 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Moment woman is ATTACKED by dive-bombing buzzard terrorising town as primary school bans kids playing outside
DRAMATIC footage shows the moment a woman is attacked by a dive-bombing buzzard. Sparking havoc in Havering, East London, the terrorising bird even spurred a village primary school to ban children from playing outside. 6 6 6 The video - which was caught on a door cam - depicts the shocking moment local Louise Whittle narrowly avoids being clipped by the swooping buzzard. The bird-of-prey is seen flying about an inch away from the woman's head. Still dressed in her dressing gown, the unsuspecting resident is seen ducking, before running away from the animal. Havering Council has since advised students from Dame Tipping Primary School nearby to stay inside due to raised concerns about the buzzard. Head teacher Stella McCarthy said the school was taking children to a nearby outdoor area instead. She added that staff were trying to "embrace" the situation as a "learning experience" for the children. She told the BBC: "We had to think about how to risk assess this... it's quite an unusual situation, having to risk assess a buzzard. "We tried our nearer playground areas thinking they would be safe, but soon discovered that Brenda was quite attracted to children playing outside." A bird of prey expert, Ross Hicking, has also visited the school to help educate the students about the buzzard's behaviour. He brought with him a Chilean blue buzzard eagle called Guido. According to Ross, the buzzard is likely acting aggressively because she has a nest nearby because most of the time they would tend to avoid people. Another factor, he added, could be the suburban environment, which means the bird could be more comfortable around humans. The council said: "Our health and safety team have provided detailed advice to the academy trust responsible for the school, including the use of legal deterrents and other controls. "We completely understand how difficult and worrying this situation is for the school and local residents and we regret that there is not a quick or straightforward solution." Havering Council said the RSPCA had advised that the buzzard may be protecting its nest or chicks. The council has also suggested hiring a falconry expert who may be able to deter the aggressive bird. But as buzzards are a protected species under UK law, "intervention options are very limited". It comes after a man was attacked by a dive-bombing hawk in a quiet village leaving him bloodied and hospitalised earlier this year. The Harris's hawk was captured on camera after a string of attacks in the sleepy Hertfordshire village of Flamstead. Residents resorted to wearing helmets or hats to protect themselves from the dive-bombing bird of prey. Jim Hewitt, 75, also from Flamstead, was left bloodied when it swooped on him as he went to get milk and a newspaper. 6 6 6
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
How a rogue bird of prey sparked fear in an English village
A buzzard has been attacking residents in Havering-atte-Bower, Essex, since Easter, leading Dame Tipping Primary School to keep pupils indoors as the bird is a protected species. Resident Nikki Dix reported being scratched on the head by the buzzard in March, while Louise Whittle, a parent, was also filmed being swooped at by the bird. The school has introduced indoor activities to keep children engaged during breaks, while parents have voiced concerns about prioritising the bird over children's safety. Havering Council stated that the RSPCA believes the buzzard may be protecting its nest or chicks, and due to its protected status, intervention options are limited to warning signs. In March, a similar situation occurred in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, where a Harris hawk attacked over 20 people, mainly tall men, before being captured by a falconer who attributed the behaviour to hormonal issues. School forced to ban children from playground as dive-bombing buzzard terrorises village
