A PIGEON has caused chaos at a house in Rhosddu after getting firmly stuck in a chimney.
Graham Higgins of Grange Avenue contacted the RSPCA three days ago when he noticed the pigeon was trapped. The bird has been subsequently identified as the property of one of Mr Higgins neighbours.
In an attempt to free the pigeon Graham Higgins has had his gas fire disconnected and removed. It soon became clear, however, that they would not be able to reach it without specialist equipment.
Yesterday the pigeon was still alive and trapped in the chimney and Mr Higgins is now hundreds of pounds out of pocket and without his gas fire.
The RSPCA initially responded to the call on the 17th November and animal collection officers have since visited the house with flexible rods in a desperate attempt to get the bird free. The pigeon, however, is not budging and the RSPCA state that there are only two remaining options, use a professional chimney sweep, or use the fire service to knock holes in the wall.
Mr Higgins now says he will be between £300 and £400 out of pocket and the pigeon still remains in his chimney. He is now considering taking drastic action to prevent the bird from dying.
“The bird is still in the chimney and if it doesn’t come out by itself, the RSPCA will come back with the Fire Service and demolish the chimney stack. To be honest with you I am just perplexed by the whole thing”
This dramatic final option would involve using a thermal imaging camera to locate the bird and then knocking holes in the wall of the chimney. This option is considered more humane than using a chimney sweep. An RSPCA spokesperson said,
“We have been in touch with both the owner and the caller and we will obviously monitor the situation. We have also contacted the fire service. One option remaining would involve knocking holes in the wall. The other option is to employ a chimney sweep to try and remove the bird. We have done everything we can and have just not been able to get the bird down.”
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Graham Higgins of Grange Avenue contacted the RSPCA three days ago when he noticed the pigeon was trapped. The bird has been subsequently identified as the property of one of Mr Higgins neighbours.
In an attempt to free the pigeon Graham Higgins has had his gas fire disconnected and removed. It soon became clear, however, that they would not be able to reach it without specialist equipment.
Yesterday the pigeon was still alive and trapped in the chimney and Mr Higgins is now hundreds of pounds out of pocket and without his gas fire.
The RSPCA initially responded to the call on the 17th November and animal collection officers have since visited the house with flexible rods in a desperate attempt to get the bird free. The pigeon, however, is not budging and the RSPCA state that there are only two remaining options, use a professional chimney sweep, or use the fire service to knock holes in the wall.
Mr Higgins now says he will be between £300 and £400 out of pocket and the pigeon still remains in his chimney. He is now considering taking drastic action to prevent the bird from dying.
“The bird is still in the chimney and if it doesn’t come out by itself, the RSPCA will come back with the Fire Service and demolish the chimney stack. To be honest with you I am just perplexed by the whole thing”
This dramatic final option would involve using a thermal imaging camera to locate the bird and then knocking holes in the wall of the chimney. This option is considered more humane than using a chimney sweep. An RSPCA spokesperson said,
“We have been in touch with both the owner and the caller and we will obviously monitor the situation. We have also contacted the fire service. One option remaining would involve knocking holes in the wall. The other option is to employ a chimney sweep to try and remove the bird. We have done everything we can and have just not been able to get the bird down.”
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Published in the Wrexham Evening Leader
http://www.wrexhamleader.co.uk/news/Pigeon-stuck-in-chimney-baffles.3503721.jp
Comment – Pigeon Story
This story was a lot of fun and taught me much. The senior reporter had taken a call from a man complaining that the RSPCA would not help him rescue a pigeon that had been stuck in his chimney for three days. I had a fixed idea in my head of what the story was before I spoke to him. It took a while to get through to Mr Higgins who had called about the bird so I decided to start writing the story. The angle was that this man had gone to considerable trouble to help rescue the pigeon and that the RSPCA weren’t concerned. I finally contacted Mr Higgins and did a telephone interview. He gave me some fantastic quotes including “I have been left to sort this out myself; I am trying to do my bit and the RSPCA can’t be bothered. If it was a fluffy puppy stuck in a chimney they would be out all guns blazing to rescue it”. I added the quotes to the story and then contacted the RSPCA for a response, I told them the criticisms I had received and the press officer promised to contact me back. Later in the afternoon she did and the story took an entirely different angle. The RSPCA had been out to Mr Higgins three times following my phone-call and could not get the bird down. The subsequent story had changed considerably and I had to abandon the original for fear of misrepresenting the RSPCA.
The story proved popular locally with the article online having a link so that readers could send messages of support to the ‘plucky pigeon’.
BBC Radio Wales also picked up the story and contacted me for Mr Higgins’ telephone number. They later interviewed him for an evening news programme.
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Comment – Pigeon Story
This story was a lot of fun and taught me much. The senior reporter had taken a call from a man complaining that the RSPCA would not help him rescue a pigeon that had been stuck in his chimney for three days. I had a fixed idea in my head of what the story was before I spoke to him. It took a while to get through to Mr Higgins who had called about the bird so I decided to start writing the story. The angle was that this man had gone to considerable trouble to help rescue the pigeon and that the RSPCA weren’t concerned. I finally contacted Mr Higgins and did a telephone interview. He gave me some fantastic quotes including “I have been left to sort this out myself; I am trying to do my bit and the RSPCA can’t be bothered. If it was a fluffy puppy stuck in a chimney they would be out all guns blazing to rescue it”. I added the quotes to the story and then contacted the RSPCA for a response, I told them the criticisms I had received and the press officer promised to contact me back. Later in the afternoon she did and the story took an entirely different angle. The RSPCA had been out to Mr Higgins three times following my phone-call and could not get the bird down. The subsequent story had changed considerably and I had to abandon the original for fear of misrepresenting the RSPCA.
The story proved popular locally with the article online having a link so that readers could send messages of support to the ‘plucky pigeon’.
BBC Radio Wales also picked up the story and contacted me for Mr Higgins’ telephone number. They later interviewed him for an evening news programme.
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