NOT everyone enjoys going to work, but Del Boy the hawk just can't wait to get there. For following owner Ernie Richardson to construction sites across the North-East allows the eight-year-old bird of prey time to play.

The Harris hawk joins mechanical digger operator Mr Richardson in his cab, then gets the chance to stretch his wings during tea breaks.

While Mr Richardson tucks into his sandwiches, Del Boy heads off into the countryside to look for rabbits, rats and birds.

Colleagues at Hartlepool firm Seymour Civil Engineering Contractors have got used to seeing Del Boy accompany Mr Richardson on jobs over the past two years.

The bird has become so accustomed to going to work, he makes a fuss every morning when his owner is getting ready for his next shift.

Mr Richardson, 58, from Wingate, County Durham, said: "He goes mad to go with me. He is crazy and bangs about in the aviary.

"When we get to work, he just sits on my headrest all day and I let him out at dinner time. He just comes back when he is ready.

"He never goes out of my sight and if he goes out behind the trees he'll come back trying to find me.

"When people see him they are amazed. When the engine is running, it doesn't bother him. He just sits there trying to get to sleep.

"They are better trained than a dog and you get a lot of fun with them."

Father-of-three Mr Richardson has always been interested in birds of prey, and as well as Del Boy, he also has a pair of mating barn owls, called Bobby and Cody.

Mr Richardson breeds the birds and so far this year they have successfully reared seven young.

"I used to fetch Bobby to work but now he's paired up I cannot split them up," he said. "If she's pregnant she needs him to feed her because she has got to stay on the eggs."

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