Geller to get free lifts to his £30,000 island

Published on Friday 20 February 2009 20:55

CELEBRITY spoon-bender Uri Geller will get free lifts by boat to his new island after scrapping plans to use his helicopter.

Geller bought Lamb Island in the Firth of Forth last week, and has since promised that he will do his best to take care of the birds that live there.

However, he caused a stir by announcing that he planned to fly by helicopter to land on the island. Worried conservationists feared the island's protected birds would be terrified by the noisy aircraft and abandon their nests.

Geller changed his mind when Linda Dalgleish from the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick said it would help him to visit his 30,000 investment.

She said: "We would certainly have advised him not to land his helicopter on Lamb. Apart from anything else it's far too small and uneven. But also it would disturb the wildlife on the island, especially during the spring and summer when the birds come back."

The mystic has now vowed to do everything he can to protect the island and its inhabitants.

He said: "I am proud to have this opportunity to preserve it, not just for its mythological and historical connections but for its conservation value."

Geller has given a 1,000 donation to the seabird centre.