A PENSIONER parrot breeder is preparing for prison after declaring he has no money to pay a £150,000 court order.

Harry Sissen, 66, has already spent eight months behind bars after a court found him guilty of smuggling rare macaws in 2000.

In July, he was ordered to sell land to pay a confiscation order or face a further 21 months in jail.

But ten days before he is due to pay-up, Mr Sissen of Cornhill Farm, East Cowton, near Northallerton, says he has not got the money.

"I have to pay £150,000 by October 1," he said.

"At the moment it is completely out of my hands, but I haven't got any money so it looks like I'm heading for prison."

Mr Sissen said he would have to sell almost all his farm to pay the court order - and claims family members will not allow him to do this.

He said: "Innocent people are not supposed to be affected.

"If we sold the farm they would have nothing to live on."

Mr Sissen, whose father bought the farm in 1953, has always denied smuggling the birds.

He is now contacting the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent public body set up to investigate suspected miscarriages of justice, for help.

The breeder is also planning to take Customs and Excise to court for allegedly mistreating confiscated parrots, macaws and cockatoos.

In April last year, Newcastle Crown Court ordered 140 of Mr Sissen's birds be seized by Customs and Excise officers.

Since then, more than 60 of the birds have died, and the breeder has lost a custody battle for the survivors.

The bird expert said he will write a book about the case.