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Killed with kindness and set fire to bedroom

Mike Glendinning
29/ 4/2004

A KIND-HEARTED Hollin boy who tried to give nature a helping hand, accidentally set fire to his bedroom.

13-year old animal lover David Collins rescued a clutch of blackbird's eggs after chasing away a group of yobs who had destroyed their mother's nest, near to his home in Abbey Road.

David took the eggs home and placed them in a makeshift incubator to keep them warm. The eggs were wrapped in tissue paper and placed in a fishing box with his bedside lamp above it to keep them warm.

One egg hatched, but while David was out playing on Sunday evening, the heat from the lamp ignited the tissues and caused a fire in the bedroom.

A quick response by crews from Heywood fire station ensured that the damage done by the smoke and fire to the house was minimised. Firefighters in breathing kits entered the house and extinguished the fire within about half an hour. The hatchling and remaining eggs did not survive the fire.

David's mum Paula said: "I was a bit upset at first but I've forgiven him now. All he was trying to do was save those chicks."

"He's a good boy really and I love him to bits."

The youngster has three pet dogs and takes home any injured animals he comes across to nurse them back to health.

On one occasion, he brought back a seven-legged spider, but Paula was so scared she squashed it.

David said: "I'd love to be a vet one day but I won't do something like this again."

"It's a lesson I won't forget."

Mike Pinhorn, a wildlife adviser for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: "It's always best to leave birds eggs where they are found, even if they appear to be in danger."