You birdbrain!
Pigeon racing in a flap as champion is caught cheating to win biggest race in the sport
WHAT with doping and illegal betting rings, the world of sport has had its fair share of controversy lately.
But few were expecting the next scandal to centre on a bird coop in Didcot.
For it turns out that the sedate world of pigeon racing has a darker side too after one of its champion bird owners was caught cheating.
Eamon Kelly was found out when he claimed one of his birds had recorded a phenomenally fast speed in one of the biggest races in the sport.
The 52-year-old has now made a full confession that he rigged the Tarbes National, from southern France to Britain, in pursuit of its prize – £1,500 and a Ford Fiesta.
Appalled racers yesterday said the cheating had brought the sport into disrepute. Some fanciers were reduced to tears by the dishonesty.
Reigning champ Kelly carried out the scam by electronically registering 14 birds to compete in last weekend’s event – but he kept them at his Oxfordshire home in Didcot. He then sent another batch of unregistered birds on a lorry to France to be released with 2,200 other competitors for the 580-mile race.
Sitting back at home, Kelly tried to calculate what the winning average speed would be and how long it might take that bird to reach his closest ‘marking station’.
As a trusted member of the sport, Kelly was in charge of this particular station in Steventon.
Having done his sums, he simply took one of his registered birds out of its coop and plonked it on the marking station mat that records its return. He then ‘swapped paperwork’ around when his unregistered pigeons flew in.
The problem was that Kelly had miscalculated and as other competitors arrived around the country it became clear that his apparent 46mph winning speed simply didn’t add up. After he was confronted, Kelly apolo- gised to the National Flying Club, the pigeon racing body that organised the race, and resigned as a race controller.
Speaking at his semi-detached house yesterday, he said he was determined to clear his name, claiming it was the only race he had ever cheated in.
In a statement he said: ‘ I, Eamon Kelly, sincerely apologise to all my friends and fanciers over my stupid actions relating to the recent Tarbes race.
‘I was tempted and fell, a decision I will regret for the rest of my life. A sport that I love so much, that has given me untold pleasure and above all friendship I have thrown all away.’
A source yesterday described his cheating as a ‘scandal’.
Roger Lowe, president of the Berks, Bucks and Oxon pigeon federation of which Mr Kelly is a member, said the deception was ‘devastating’, adding: ‘ Everybody is just shell-shocked. ‘Some people haven’t slept.’ Mr Kelly has been described as ‘ one of the true workers of the sport’. He took up the hobby as a nine-year- old, learning it from one of the country’s leading pigeon fanciers.
The fancier soon developed a reputation for specialising in cross-Channel races, where he is said to have clocked consistent racing times in varying weather conditions with ‘enviable regularity’. His reputation as one of the country’s leading racers has seen him travel to South Africa, Japan and across Europe to take part in events.
Mr Kelly, who owns up to 350 pigeons including two from the Queen’s pigeon loft, faces a disciplinary hearing next week to decide his future in the sport.
The National Flying Club said: ‘It is an unfortunate incident within the club and for the sport of racing pigeons.’
‘I was tempted and fell’