Criminals 'stole the sparrow'

London's criminals have been blamed for a massive drop in the number of house sparrows in the capital.

Experts say homeowners are too scared to grow hedges near their house for fear criminals will use them as a hiding place. They say the lack of hedgerows could explain the 75 per cent drop in sparrow numbers in the past 10 years.

"People feel unsafe in well-vegetated, enclosed areas," said Su Gough of the British Trust for Ornithology, which made a three-year study into the sparrow's scarcity.