Bird lady warned

A pensioner was warned yesterday that she will be jailed for three months if she feeds birds or animals in her garden. Barbara Simpson, 60, was given a suspended prison sentence when she appeared at Winchester Crown Court for the fourth time this year, after she broke an injunction and two previous promises.

Mrs Simpson, who has a 24ft square bird table at her home in Preston, Dorset, said: "The judge is obviously not an animal lover. By doing this he has taken away everything that I have got. I would rather have gone to prison if I could come out and still feed my birds. I will try and keep my bird table going." Weymouth and Portland Borough Council had been granted an injunction forbidding her from feeding the birds. It had sought the court order after neighbours complained she was spending up to pounds 100 a week feeding the birds at her home.