Pleas to free John Wilkinson, the Asbo birdman of Morecambe

Campaigners have called for the release of a man who was jailed for feeding pigeons in his home town. Lancaster magistrates jailed John Wilkinson for six weeks, after he repeatedly breached an Asbo forbidding him to feed the birds.

Neighbours in Morecambe complained the flocks of pigeons made their lives a misery. However friends of Mr Wilkinson, 65, said he was only carrying out his mother’s dying wish. “His mum fed the birds when she was alive,” said Jo Bailey, 43. “It was her wish that he would carry on.”

Mr Wilkinson’s supporters staged a mass “bird feed” on Saturday. Josie Appleton of the Manifesto Club, which protests against the “hyper regulation” of everyday life, said the incident proved the criminal justice system had “lost the plot… it’s hardly an imprisonable crime”.