Wolverhampton's 'Owl Man' counts costs of Storm Darragh after huge tree falls onto his aviaries
Wolverhampton's own 'Owl Man' is counting the costs of Storm Darragh after a tree fell into his garden and onto the aviaries that house his rare owls.
The disaster struck last weekend, Saturday, December 8, when a knock at the door led to Karl Perry, 60, from Wolverhampton, being told a tree had fallen into his back garden, landing across a collection of aviaries he has which house the owls he looks after.
Karl has been left with nowhere to store the birds, as the damaged aviaries will need to be mended before they can be placed back inside them.
He has also been left with a garden full of tree debris that he has to clear himself before he can even begin mending the damage.
The well-known local is hoping to clear the debris this weekend, and is appealing for anyone who may have time to lend a hand to get in touch so that he can get his precious birds back where they belong.
He also took a moment to thank a tree surgeon and some local people who have already helped him get the fir tree chopped up.
Karl, a father-of-one, said: "I got a knock at the door on Saturday and it was a guy telling me that a tree had come down into my back garden, a big fir tree.
"I went to have a look and found a 50ft fir tree lying across my aviaries, its done a lot of damage, it's damaged at least six aviaries and we had a tree surgeon down on Sunday morning who gave up his time to help us cut three down along with some other locals - but I'm now left with all the debris to clear before I can start fixing everything."
Luckily all the birds survived and are at the moment in travel boxes in Karl's van, but they can't stay there for much longer.
He said: "It's been three or for days already, I can't risk putting them in the damaged ones in case they escape, and that's without mentioning that another tree could fall down.
"I'm surprised they haven't escaped, thank God we got them all out alive.
"I think it will take a couple of weeks to rebuild the aviaries, but I can't even start them until I have all the debris out the way, it's a big clean up process.
"I'm appealing for any help I can get to get it cleared as quick as possible so if there is anyone who can lend a hand I would really appreciate it.
"I'm also very grateful for the help I have had so far, I can't thank the tree surgeon enough, he didn't charge me a penny and was a huge help when it all happened."
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