'Tony Blair' takes wrong turn

2003-06-21 21:17

London - A homing pigeon who took a wrong turn on his return to Britain from France, ending up in the United States, is to be flown home by British Airways, the airline said on Saturday.

"We promise Billy's trip home will be more comfortable than his trip out," a BA spokesperson said.

Billy, from the town of Bootle in northwest England, had been expected to arrive home seven hours after being released from Fougeres in northern France, on June 6.

The two-year-old's owners, John and Maria Warren, thought Billy had died after failing to return but the couple received a telephone call earlier this week to say he had turned up in New York.

Maria Warren, 49, said: "Birds often hit power lines so we thought the worst. He's only a youngster and this was his first Channel race."

She added that Billy had become a star in America and had been renamed Tony Blair, after the British Prime Minister, "for his guts and determination".

Ann Edwards, of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association, said it was unlikely that Billy had flown all the way to the United States, saying he had probably stowed away on a ship.

Billy was expected back in Britain next week, but will have to spend 32 days in quarantine before he can return to his loft.

- AFX