How a few trapped pigeons led to a father and son's 70 year involvement in one of Yorkshire's best-loved traditions

Could there be anything more quintessentially Yorkshire?

It defines a father and son bond and a life-long interest and passion which started when Graham Oliver was a 12 year-old boy.

He rescued some pigeons which had got stuck in the loft of a neighbour's house and from there followed a 70 year involvement in a sport that can be worth millions of pounds, yet is in danger of dying off.

Mark Oliver, caught the pigeon racing bug from father Graham when he was 26 and they went into partnership keeping and racing pigeons.

The self-employed joiner now has around 90 pigeons, and can tell the difference between them, plus silverware equally in abundance. In his first two seasons with current club, the West Leeds Flying Club, he was the club’s highest prize winner.

From a back garden and allotment in Yeadon, west Leeds these birds are bred and trained to fly hundreds of miles in a sport, which, to the outsider may appear a simple working class characteristic but is actually extremely complex and competitive.

Mr Oliver said: "They were always there but when you are a teenager you are not really interested. I got married and then moved back to Yeadon. I went round one day and said I will come in partnership with you. It was because of him but once you have them and get some good results - it is a bit like a drug really. I keep saying I won't do it anymore because they take up so much time.

"You have to see to them morning and night and racing is a Saturday if you want to do well. But there is something about it. You get a pigeon coming back from 500 miles away and it drops in before 9pm - it is a real buzz."

Mr Oliver has around 90 birds which includes stock pigeons and once his birds have finished malting, around Christmas he will pair them up and if they are in good condition they will lay eggs.

After an incubation period he hopes he will get around 60 youngsters, but, out of that he might only get a few that are prize race winners.

Some have been known to sell for £1.6m overseas. Places such as Thailand and South America are seeing an increase in popularity in racing pigeons and with factors in the UK leading to the decline of the sport - it maybe that pigeon fanciers end up breeding birds to sell.

He added: "It is popular but there are not many young people coming into the sport. I went into it because of my dad, in Barnsley it was miners that had them and it is big around Newcastle and Middlesbrough. The majority of people doing it are in their 60s and 70s, allotments are going. Some breed and send to Thailand and South Africa, they sell for a million dollars there and I think it might go towards people breeding them and sending to someone else to race."

He explains: "The RSPB is introducing peregrines to every cathedral and breed five youngsters. They are a beautiful bird and very clever. They actually wait for transporters to liberate pigeons. We are losing good pigeons that should be coming home. They are decimating it and I think there will be no pigeon racing in five years time."

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