Graduate Gets Work As A Human Scarecrow

A graduate has found a job with a difference - working as a human scarecrow.

Real-life Worzel Gummidge, 22-year-old Jamie Fox spends his days sitting, reading and strumming his ukulele.

But he leaps into action when birds begin to circle, scaring them with his bright orange coat, accordion and cow bell.

Mr Fox, who studied music and English at Bangor University, is halfway through a fortnight-long stint scaring partridges from a field of oilseed rape near Aylsham, Norfolk.

Mr Fox said he enjoys being out in the fresh air and, while some friends are bemused by his new job, others are envious.

He said: "I get to sit and read for a lot of the time, but whenever the partridges appear I have to get up and scare them off.

"I ring a cowbell and I've even played the accordion, but the ukulele doesn't seem to have any effect on them."

Mr Fox, who lives in Aylsham, earns £250 a week for his efforts policing the 10-acre field for eight hours each day. He is saving for a planned trip to New Zealand next year.

"I don't want to be a scarecrow forever, but it is giving me time to decide what I will do with my future," he said.

Worzel Gummidge was a fictional scarecrow that came to life on Scatterbrook Farm in a 1979-81 television series of the same name.

But he was a hopeless scarecrow as he spent most of his time trying to woo a fairground doll called Aunt Sally instead of scaring crows.

Farmer William Youngs employed Mr Fox because conventional birdscarers had not worked.

He said: "We have tried bangers to scare them off but the partridges always return.

"Jamie's doing a good job. You can really see the difference."