A homeless man who ‘stroked, cuddled and kissed’ swans in Hyde Park has been banned from the public space after a getting into a fight with disapproving onlookers.
Anders Fernstedt, 57, was known locally as ‘The Swan Whisperer’, and was filmed touching and kissing the creatures in the central London park.
Resident Virginia Grey took the footage, while swan volunteer Jon Ferguson told Fernstedt to leave the birds alone because of an outbreak of avian flu.
Swedish man Fernstedt responded by ramming Ms Grey with his bicycle, then attacking Mr Ferguson when he tried to stop him, during the incident in 2023.
Fernstedt denied a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but was convicted by a jury at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday.
He was sentenced to a 15 month community order and a 15 day rehabilitation activity requirement by judge Recorder David Etherington, KC.
Fernstedt was well-known around London’s so-called billionaires’ row in Knightsbridge, where he had pitched up in a doorway with a bed, plants and books.
During the trial at Southwark Crown Court, the court heard he enjoyed gifts including designer clothes and a £5,000 Fortnum and Mason hamper from residents of the wealthy west London neighborhood.
He became homeless in 2023 after he was evicted from the house he was living in when it was sold.
Fernstedt, who had no previous convictions, represented himself in court with his long hair tied up in a bun and sporting a long grey beard, while wearing a navy suit with a purple tie.
The judge also passed a restraining order preventing Fernstedt from going into Kensington Gardens in Hyde Park, or contacting Mr Ferguson or Ms Grey, for two years.
The judge said: ‘There were clearly issues with the swan population due to an outbreak of avian flu and Mr Ferguson had warned you about touching the swans and you ignored him several times and enticed the swans out of the water with food.
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‘You have beliefs about interacting with and touching swans and showing them to tourists to understand the bird population.
‘The sad thing is all three of you have an interest in the welfare of birds but different views about how this should be achieved.’
When Ms Grey was filming him touching the swans, Fernstedt ‘clearly moved forward and rammed your bicycle into Mrs Grey, causing her to fall over, the judge added.
Mr Ferguson’s attempts to apprehend Fernstedt led to a ‘tussle’ on the ground which left the swan volunteer needing stitches to his mouth.
The judge said: ‘I find you to be an eccentric man but not suffering from an underlying mental illness.’
He added: ‘Just because people are intelligent it doesn’t mean they’re always wise.
‘You are obviously an intelligent man, you clearly have had a responsible work history and it is unfortunate that seems to have gone away.’
During cross examination, Ms Grey even cast doubt on Fernstedt’s connection with the swans, saying that they would ‘go to anybody who has food… It is not because they think you are fantastic’.
‘But you stroke them, you cuddle them, you kiss them, you pick them up. That is interfering with wildlife, and disturbing them. It is not natural.’
Fernstedt asked her: ‘Do you consider yourself as someone with royalist sympathies?’
Mrs Grey replied: ‘I just have concerns for the birds themselves and for their welfare.’
She added: ‘’I was very scared, you called me Hitler, you called me evil.’
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