News about Chris Packham

The 71-year-old came under fire for accusations he was turning his seven acre waterside property into an 'industrial site' after he built two huge barns, a tennis court and a pergola without consent. He applied for retrospective permission from the planning authority in 2022, which has now been granted - despite objections slamming the project as 'industrialist'. The billionaire was facing the prospect of having to demolish the sheds.

A historic woodland buried beneath a pile of illegal waste has become an unlikely tourist spot, with social media influencers flocking to visit the stinking rubbish. Locals slammed authorities for inaction over a 25ft mound of illegal waste dumped at Hoad's Wood in Kent. The site then garnered a lot of attention on social media - with even TV presenter Chris Packham taking an interest. The area more closely resembles a landfill site than a wildlife sanctuary - despite signs at the entrance warning fly-tippers they are being watched and will be prosecuted. Contractors have estimated it would cost £10million to clear up the mess, and locals have said they want the Environment Agency to foot the bill. But it has now become an unlikely tourist destination, with YouTubers and TikTokkers flocking to the site to film the wreckage. Pictured left is YouTuber Alistair Humphreys, inset is filmmaker Richard Taylor-Jones.

Shocking aerial photos show the 25ft mound of illegal waste left at a historic woodland beauty spot by up to 30 trucks a day. Officials launched an investigation after mountains of waste were piled around the four acres of Hoad's Wood in Kent, near Winnie the Pooh's Ashdown Forest.  Shocking photos show that the area more closely resembles a landfill site than a wildlife sanctuary - despite signs at the entrance warning fly-tippers they are being watched and will be prosecuted. The local Rescue Hoad's Wood campaign group - who say the beautiful bluebell forest has been turned into a 'desolate wasteland' - told The Telegrap h surveys estimate 27,000 tonnes of waste needs to be cleared. They added that the cost to do this would be around £10million, including taxes and contingencies, based on a quote from a contractor.

ANDREW PIERCE: What is it about the BBC ? Its veteran eco-warrior Chris Packham was challenged on Laura Kuenssberg's BBC1 show last week to prove his claim that extreme weather events such as the flooding in Dubai were caused by carbon emissions. But instead Packham launched an attack on Toby Young, editor of the Daily Sceptic blog which casts doubt on the Springwatch presenter's arguments. Packham told the programme: '[The evidence] doesn't come from Toby Young's Daily "Septic" [sic] which is put together by a bunch of professionals with close affiliations to the fossil industry.'

Hoad's Wood in Kent has become a popular spot for illegal dumping of commercial waste - despite signs at the entrance warning fly-tippers they're being watched and will be prosecuted. The spot is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) due to the range of birds, insects, and trees that call it home. However, photographs taken over the last few months show the area now more closely resembles a landfill site rather than a wildlife sanctuary. The Environment Agency (EA) has been working with Kent Police's rural task force to catch those who dumped the rubbish, but nobody has been charged yet.

Chris Packham has mocked Matt Hancock for a charity video explaining why the politician is running the London Marathon. The former Health Secretary recorded a clip saying he was running in the event to raise money for the Accessible Learning Foundation, a charity that helps people with dyslexia and neurodiversity. Mr Hancock, who has been diagnosed with dyslexia , said in the footage he loved the 'sense of excitement' that comes with taking part in the event along with 50,000 other runners. However, it earned a less than welcome response from Mr Packham, who held his head in his hands when he was shown the video on the BBC 's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. He then went on to criticise Mr Hancock for what he perceived to be a 'lack of sincerity'.

Marcus Decker climbed 200 feet up the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge over the River Thames in Dartford, Kent, then camped in a hammock for 40 hours, forcing police to close the crossing and causing giant jams in the 2022 protest two years ago. He was jailed for two years and seven months for the stunt - and told he would be deported when released. But now a campaign to prevent this, led by his girlfriend, Holly Cullen-Davies, 40, is taking off. Ms Cullen-Davies, previously a single mum, has told how she 'fell in love' with Decker three years ago and he has 'become a wonderful stepfather' to her two children.

Cressida Gethin, 22, was convicted of causing a public nuisance for her part in the motorway protest that caused a nine-mile tailback on July 20, 2022, and could be jailed when she is sentenced next month. The disruptive demonstration came one day after the UK saw a record high temperature of 40C and two days after the government's Net-Zero Strategy was declared illegal.The Cambridge University music student - who has taken two years out of her studies to focus on climate activism - admits having 'mixed feelings' about her actions and would like to meet the people who were impacted by them.

TV presenter Chris Packham led Extinction Rebellion protesters tonight as they stormed the Science Museum's new climate gallery over its sponsorship by a mining company. The exhibit has been plagued by disruption since its opening last month, with criticism centring on the fact the gallery's sponsor - the Adani Group - derives 60 per cent of its revenue from the coal industry. The Adani Group is also involved in the manufacturing of drones for the Israeli military, Extinction Rebellion has claimed. Speaking to the 30-strong band of young people, scientists and activists, Mr Packham deemed the sponsorship deal 'beyond greenwash - it's grotesque'. He continued: 'Science tells us that the fossil fuel industry is responsible for the accelerating destruction of our natural world.'

A range of animals are seen singing along to Aretha Franklins' Respect, as clips show chickens and dairy cows, a bee being caught in a lawnmower and a snail almost being stepped on. Its calls for Brits to treat all animals better even questioned why society treats rats and foxes as pests yet 'we love hedgehogs who visit our garden' and 'turn a blind eye to the suffering of billions of meat chickens'.

Switzerland's biggest political party demanded a withdrawal from the Council of Europe after the continent's top rights court on Tuesday ruled the country was not doing enough to tackle climate change. The hard-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) slammed the verdict, calling the decision by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg 'scandalous'. The verdict has caused controversy in Switzerland, which joined the Council of Europe in 1963 but has stayed out of the European Union , with the SVP arguing the 'brazen interference in Swiss politics is unacceptable for a sovereign country' in a statement.

Chris Packham, the naturalist and host of the Essex, 62, took to social media to ask that the Environment Agency and Natural England's'sort out' the crisis at the former beauty spot. Since January, huge piles of commercial waste, plastic and discarded soil have been dumped in Hoad's Wood near Ashford, Kent. Locals have pressed officials to clear up the garbage at the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), prompting locals to rush. Now host Packham has called on officials to get the mess cleared up.

MANDY REVIEW: Diane Morgan must be told of Diane Morgan's ultimate 'bad influence,' the kind of person your parents warned you about. She converts Graham Norton into a paid killer first and then demands Michaela Strachan say the F-word. After stealing a ladder from a steeplejack, Morgan, as her chain-smoking alter ego Mandy (BBC2), was up a church spire. A flock of 'great crested eagle' eggs fell into her barnet as she removed a bird's nest. In virtually every version of Springwatch, this sort of thing occurs, but Michaela (hiding in a nearby tree) was agog when the first chick hatched. She gasped, 'I never thought I'd see one of those.' 'But what the £@&% is it doing in her hair?' Chris Packham, please cover your ears.

Many adults are also unaware of the autism spectrum. This is believed to be the case for women, with some experts stating that thousands of women, many middle-aged or older, are fighting through life with undiagnosed autism. But a tool created by autism experts at the University of Cambridge may help determine whether you have autism symptoms.

Dr. Punit Shah, a professor of psychology and neurodiversity from the University of Bath, breaks down the giveaway signs that your child is autistic. Experts discuss autism, from avoiding eye contact to managing anxiety and craving a routine to echoing words and phrases, not speaking as well as other children, and speaking 'at' others.

Before he finally received his autism diagnosis at age 44, Chris Packham has admitted that he 'loathed himself' and was 'felt broken.' The Springwatch host, 62, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday to raise money for World Autism Acceptance Week. Autism is a disorder that causes a person's brain to function differently than normal. It's not a disease and people get it from the moment they're born, but it may not be detected until childhood and then much later.

As she and her partner Joe Swash arrived out for the Royal Television Society Awards, Stacey Solomon stunned her in a satin gown. On Tuesday, Loose Women actress Rosie Crowley, 34, has been nominated for Best Presenter at the awards dinner, which takes place at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London. In the category, she will face comedian Rhod Gilbert and naturalist Chris Packham. Sort Your Life Out, Stacey's home improvement program, has also been selected for the Best Popular Factual Show.

Imagining the future of our cities. Do you imagine glittering skyscrapers, bullet trains whizzing past green parklands, flying taxis and limitless clean energy? I'm afraid you will be dissatisfied. Swaths of the world's cities are more likely to be abandoned, with small numbers of people clinging to decaying houses on empty, weed-strewn streets, like modern-day Detroit. According to a recent Lancet medical journal article, just six countries could be experiencing children at'replacement rates,' implying that there are enough births to keep their populations stable, not growth.

The constant sound of birdsong streaming through their radios has become a part of dedicated Radio 4 listeners' awakening ritual. But this is about to come to an end after the station announced that it is axeing the weekday broadcasts of Tweet of the Day - which broadcasts the call or song of a particular species. The show, which precedes the Today show, first appeared in 2013. It usually airs at 5.58 a.m. for about 90 seconds. With bosses aiming to give Farming Today more airtime, it is now being reduced to just a Sunday broadcast as part of schedule shifts. Sir David Attenborough, Chris Packham, Bill Oddie, Kate Humble, and Steve Backshall have all sent a tweet of the Day.

The environmentalist retaliated after arguing that "conservative" groups should be entitled to a "portfolio of demonstrations." His remarks came amid renewed concerns about MPs' wellbeing, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak having used a speech on Friday to warn against increasing bullying. Now, it has been announced that the television presenter has been given a new series on the BBC investigating ADHD and Dyslexia. Packham, the presenter of the BBC's Springwatch programme, refused to condemn the climate group's position yesterday morning.

A report by experts at University College London found a disturbing degree of variation in autism assessment centers in the NHS, which is now being investigated by the health service. It comes as some experts are growing worried about whether there is an overdiagnose of the condition due to the way murky the diagnostic criteria are. Autism diagnosis has risen over the past two decades, with a number of British people being told they have the condition later in life. These include celebrities like Melanie Sykes (left), Chris Packham (centre), and Christine McGuinness (right).

After lobbyists such as Just Stop Oil and pro-Palestinian demonstrators started waving banners and signs outside constituent houses, Brendan Cox intervened. His remarks came after BBC presenter Chris Packham defended Just Stop Oil's tactics. Mr Cox said on Times Radio: "It's absolutely vital that we protect the right of protest,' he said. Protests can be enthralling, but it can also be a source of irritation.' In addition, coercion isn't allowed. And, I suspect the line that I would draw would be somewhere there is physical abuse or on the property. However, being outside an MP's house is clearly an act of coercion; coercion is almost nonexistent no matter how they act.'

Chris Packham, a BBC presenter on Downing Street, was chastised for supporting Just Stop Oil's call for eco-zealots to protest outside MPs' homes today. The environmentalist retaliated after being accused of 'conservative' groups' and that they should be entitled to a 'portfolio of protests'. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had used a speech on Friday to warn against increasing intimidation, fueling fears over MPs' wellbeing. There has also been chastised for Just Stop Oil's assertion that attacking MPs at their homes is justified, as well as critique of pro-Palestinian demonstrators. However, Packham, the presenter of the BBC's Springwatch programme, was unable to condemn the climate group's stance this morning.

After the host wanted to buy a Range Rover "just to spite" him, Chris Packham (left) branded Jeremy Clarkson a "buffoon." Clarkson (right) had intended to buy a Land Rover with a "smallish diesel engine," but after being irritated by something Packham said on television, he'cancelled" the purchase. He wanted to 'annoy' and 'punish' the Springwatch star by purchasing a 'V8' that produces more carbon dioxides than India'. He also said that learning about the environment Packham has actually made it 'comforting.' Packham said the "spiteful" decision "betrays such tragic ignorance that it has an almost comedic value."