CHEEP SHOT

As parakeets spread across UK, Chris Packham brands calls to cull them 'random vandalism'

- BY NICOLA METHVEN TV Editor

CHRIS Packham has hit back at claims ring-necked parakeets are damaging our wildlife landscape.

The TV conservationist, 65, has made a documentary about the divisive, bright green birds, which originated from northern Pakistan and now number 50,000 across the UK.

He also dispels the rumour that they are in Britain because rocker Jimi Hendrix released his girlfriend's pair of parakeets in the 1960s, comparing that to the Loch Ness monster myth.

While some claim the parakeets steal the nesting sites of other birds and damage crops, Chris says there is no science to back the claim that they are an invasive species.