When searching for a home, there are things on the forefront of the mind and things on the backburner. Where will the home be located? What’s the surrounding area like? Should we choose a 30-year fixed or 15-year fixed rate mortgage? Are the neighbors welcoming? You know, typical questions that people want to get out of the way before locking themselves into a new home and community.
You’d want to be informed of local terrors, wouldn’t you? The sleepy Sussex community at Bexhill-on-Sea has been taunted, heckled, and, so they say, otherwise terrorized by a notorious paraglider. Over the span of two years, police in the area have received more than a dozen complaints about the man’s behavior. They’ve claimed he flies low and shouts obscenities, among other things, at people who live in the community. So, while 35% of people are gearing up for a home remodel, the residents of this community have made such a fuss that both the Sussex Police and the Civil Aviation Authority have launched an investigation into the potty-mouthed paraglider:
“Over the past two years, Sussex Police has received reports of the paraglider causing criminal damage, obstructing the highway, being abusive and hostile towards members of the public and generally behaving in an antisocial manner,” said a police spokesperson.
He came forward and says he’s doing nothing wrong. The man’s name is Paul Satchell, who has been referred to as the Bexhill Birdman. A 54-year-old local carpenter, he insists that he’s the victim of a campaign against his hobby. He calls the allegations from fellow locals false. A local lawyer says that much of the residents come to the coast for a quiet, retirement community by the water. What they don’t want is someone paragliding low and being boisterous. As much a resident as anyone else around there, Satchell states:
“The same people who made these false allegations against me are the same ones who are picking on me for flying. Maybe they don’t have a life of their own. They will never stop me because I have done nothing wrong. I’m a free-flying spirit.”
He does go on to admit that he can be a bit confrontational with people when they get on his bad side, yet he insists that he’s merely enjoying his hobby. Though, because of the dozens of complaints filed, the investigation continues.
Who will prevail in the case of Bexhill versus Birdman? Only time will tell. In the meantime, his free flying spirit is free to fly. Though, now, perhaps he’ll keep his commentary to himself.
