PIGEON racer John Ledger has ruffled more than a few feathers by threatening to challenge the charitable status of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

But his anger landed him in hot water after he began an e-mail campaign against an innocent birdwatcher because he was the only RSPB member he could contact.

In the past three weeks Mr Ledger he has lost 10 racing birds to hawks, two of them before his eyes as they exercised around his home in Osborne Terrace, Stacksteads.

Other birds have returned to the loft with injuries attributed to hawk attacks.

Mr Ledger was so angry and upset that he launched the e-mail campaign threatening to take the RSPB to court.

He believes they have encouraged the reintroduction and propagation of peregrine falcons.

The result has been a marked increased in attacks on racing pigeons which he says has reached epidemic proportions in some parts of the country.

He said: "In the past three weeks I have lost two of my better birds and a third of my racing team.''

In an Easter e-rage attack he put out an open letter on the Internet saying he planned to challenge the charity status of the RSPB. His weekend e-mail outburst was directed at surprised birdwatcher Wes Halton whose main interest is in mute swans and who merely advertised local RSPB group meetings on his website. Mr Halton, of Greater Manchester, who was bombarded with dozens of e-mails from as far afield as Australia, America and South Africa, said the attack was outrageous and he had contacted the RSPB.

He has now threatened the Bacup-based pigeon fancier with legal action if the computer messages continue, as well as reporting them to Internet providers.

Mr Ledger a 42-year-old industrial chemist who races pigeons in partnership with his wife Linda, said he regretted Mr Halton was the one member of the RSPB he could contact at the time. He now intends to directly approach the RSPB headquarters in Bedfordshire, the sports minister, environment minister, MPs and other interested groups.

Leading ornithologist Chris Mead said: "It is the racing pigeons which have been introduced, not the peregrines."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.