Saxon riches by roadside
Fury as developers put up barriers to birds nesting
A BURIAL site beneath a verge has been hailed as the UK’s “equivalent of Tutankhamun’s tomb”.
Artefacts hint the body may be Seaxa, brother of Anglo-Saxon King Saebert.
Roadside discoveries in Prittlewell, Essex, include a lyre, a 1,400-year-old painted box and a flagon believed to be from Syria.
Sophie Jackson, of the Museum of London Archaeology, said: “It was such an unpromising looking site between a railway and a bit of road.” A sparrow A derelict farm building is covered CAMPAIGNERS hope developers will be banned from using nets to stop birds nesting after a 350,000name petition prompted MPs to debate the issue in Parliament.
It is already an offence to destroy birds’ nests while they are in use.
But building firms planning to clear trees and hedgerows use netting to stop birds setting up home in the first place and delaying construction. Birdlovers, including TV’s Chris Packham, have slammed the method and say it has exploded this spring.
Labour MP for Hartlepool Mike Hill, who will lead Monday’s debate on making it illegal, said: “We need to balance the building of affordable homes with the impact on the environment.
“This practice brings into sharp focus the need for
Chris Packham improved legislation to protect our wildlife.” Images of covered trees and hedges, including in Quainton, Bucks, where HS2 contractors used netting, sparked fury among nature lovers. Campaigners have filmed birds and mammals trapped in them. Doug Parr, of Greenpeace, said it shows “how ludicrously skewed our relationship with nature is”.