Gardner ruffles feathers

THE BBC’s bird- l oving Security Correspondent Frank Gardner, who was paralysed 16 years ago after being shot in Saudi Arabia, has accused Bri t ai n’s bi r dwatching community of discriminating against the disabled.

‘ It’s not a wheelchairfriendly place for birdwatchers,’ says Frank, who was elected president of the British Trust for Ornithology last year. ‘The amount of times I find there’s a wooden style I can’t get over, or a gate that’s difficult. There are almost no facilities in a lot of these places around Britain. It’s got a long way to go.’

The father-of-two adds: ‘It isn’t just people in wheelchairs. It’s often people with prams, or an elderly grandparent who would love to see these places but can’t.’