A PARROT breeder has mounted a protest on a 30ft grandfather clock in a bid to get his confiscated birds returned.

Harry Sissen, 66, has pitched a tent on the giant wooden clock that he built in a field next to his home in East Cowton.

He plans to spend time there periodically until Customs and Excise officials agree to return the rare breeds seized from his farm several years ago. Officers took 139 of his birds, many of which have since died.

After the raid, the international parrot expert was jailed on smuggling charges in 1998, in a high profile case in which his MP, William Hague, gave evidence.

Mr Sissen will continue his protest periodically rather than 24 hours a day, but has pledged to continue indefinitely until the birds are returned.

He took a break on Tuesday to give him time to feed his remaining birds, but had started his protest again by Wednesday evening.

Mr Sissen, who has appeared on wildlife TV programmes, has always maintained that his lifetime's work was to protect endangered species by breeding new birds to return to their natural environment.

But Customs officers accused him of smuggling rare birds and he was jailed for 30 months. Since then, he has appeared in court again so Customs can recoup some of the substantial court costs.

Mr Sissen has already paid £50,000, but says he cannot afford any more without having to sell his farm and his home, shared by his family.

He said: "At the time of the raid, it was in the middle of the breeding season. Yet despite this, nearly 140 birds were removed. Of those, 63 have since died in captivity."

At his trial, it was alleged that Customs had broken up an international smuggling ring.

However, he said that it had since been established that all of the birds were legally owned by him and the vast majority had also been bred by him.

An Appeal Court judgement that the birds should be returned to Mr Sissen was later overruled.

Mr Sissen has his own web site at www.harrysissen.co.uk.

Parks back ethnic links project

YORKSHIRE'S two national parks are taking part in a £1m project to build links with ethnic minorities.

The Mosaic Partnership aims to get people from black and minority ethnic communities more involved in the running of national parks, as volunteers, employees or authority members.

The project focuses initially on four parks - the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors, the Peak District and the Brecon Beacons - because they are nearest major multi-cultural urban populations.

The partnership, managed by the Council for National Parks, runs for three years. Community "champions" from minority groups will be trained to act as ambassadors and information channels between their communities and the parks.