Unpleasant pheasant means woman never leaves home without badminton racquet

A pheasant dubbed a ‘tyrant’ has resulted in a woman never leaving her Shropshire home without her badminton racquet to be deployed as a weapon to defend herself. Sally-Ann Hudson, from Wentnor, near Bishop’s Castle says the bird, which she has christened Phil, first turned up outside her home about four months ago.



Sally-Ann, 44, who lives with her parents, said: “At first we didn’t really notice him but we began to realise he was not like other pheasants – at first his stalking was very innocent. He would stare at us through the windows. Whichever window we looked out of, there he was. Sometimes he would jump up on the windowsill for a better view.

“Sometimes I go from one room into another, and he will run round the outside of the house following my movements. He even tries to get into the house and I am sure would readily come in if the door was left open. He wakes me up every morning angrily headbutting the French windows downstairs.” Sally-Ann admitted being stalked by a bird was a bit unusual – but even she was stunned at what followed.


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“Then he started attacking us,” Sally-Ann said. “He doesn’t like the sound of my parents putting coal in the coal bucket and if they are getting coal in he will run at them, flapping round and pecking. Often when we get in the car, he will appear from nowhere and either jump on the car or start pecking it. He runs alongside the car as we drive away, pecking and headbutting the wheels. We have taken to carrying a badminton racquet when we go outside, just to defend ourselves. He lurks around the house all the time, for no apparent reason.”