THE lone piper of Heaton Park is not the ghost of a long-dead clansman - he's very real.

Adrian Goodman, pictured, a student at Manchester University, has not been banished to the park to practise his bagpipes by his wife, Julie.

"That is the story that is going around, and we don't always deny it. But practising in a house is not very satisfactory," said Adrian, of Bury Old Road, Prestwich.

"The sound bounces back off the walls and hurts my ears. Heaton Park is a much better place to practise really."

Adrian took up the bagpipes a few years ago because "it's a fun instrument to play". He denies that he is any good although he has played at a few of his friends' weddings.

Adrian, who is studying for a PhD in plant science, also plays the violin and whistle.

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