MEET the Bird Man of Caerwent, Steve Richards, who has rescued more than 50 birds of prey in the last 15 years.

When he is not working as a forklift instructor for Wilkinson’s in Magor, the father-of-three's time is spent looking after the rescued birds which are housed in specially-adapted aviaries in his own garden protected by cameras.

Mr Richards, 55, is often asked to take the birds to shows, fetes and talks in the local area, which he does for free.

The grandfather-of-two said that his love for birds started from a young age but admits that he and his brothers used to steal blackbird eggs from nests when they were children.

He said this stopped when someone pointed out the error of his ways.

From then on, Mr Richards took a great interest in nature.

He said his parents dreaded the period between April and August when he would come home with baby birds and was told to put them back.

Mr Richards started studying books about birds, where they bred and where he could find them.

“I just got hooked. As I got older my passion has grown even more,” he said.

Mr Richards was able to combine his hobby with his job when he worked at the army base in Caerwent for 21 years before it closed.

Although Mr Richards’ job was a forklift driver, he was often called upon to rescue animals in the 1,600 acre site and was asked to do bird counts.

Mr Richards said the site was also breeding two barn owls and releasing them back into the wild.

But when the base closed and the birds had nowhere to go, Mr Richards built an aviary in his own garden to look after them.

Since then, Mr Richards is often called upon whenever someone knows a bird needs help.

Mr Richards, who is also a football referee for the Gwent County League and the Welsh League, said he tries to keep the birds for as little time as possible so they don't get dependent on him for food.

He currently has eight birds which includes a white scorpsowl called Bobo and a red tail hawk called Sisco.

Two of these were bought for Mr Richards and the other six were rescued and can not be released into the wild.

He said: "When I let my birds go and see them flying, the buzz I get is overwhelming. I get a tear in my eye."

In recent years, Mr Richards has joined the Welsh Hawking Club and has undertaken the Lantra Award in falconry.

Mr Richards' love for birds has also been adopted by his wife Debbie and sons Craig, 13, and Dafyn, 11, who often help him.