Chesney Hawkes meets namesake Flamstead hawk

It’s an unlikely match – a chart-topping pop star and a bird of prey that went viral when it dive-bombed villagers.

But singer Chesney Hawkes said it was the “pinnacle of his career” to come face-to-face with another famous hawk, which now shares his name.

The feathered foe terrorised Flamstead in Hertfordshire earlier this year and has since been calmed by a falconer, who chose the apt new moniker Chesney for the bird’s fresh start.

“I’ve played stadiums around the world and had number one hits, but this tops everything, this is it,” said Hawkes.

“Having a beautiful creature named after me, I’m just so honoured by it, I really am.”

The Harris’s hawk was blamed for dive-bombing attacks on about 50 people, including in one case where a man was taken to hospital.

Nicknamed “Bomber Harris”, the belligerent bird was eventually captured in April and trained by Wayne Housden.

“I’m going to fly him loose at the end of October and call him back, but I can’t walk through a wood shouting out ‘Bomber’,” Mr Housden told Hawkes.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to call him Chesney, so I can call out Chez.”

“Wow what an honour, that’s amazing, I feel like I’ve met my spirit animal,” said Hawkes, who was interested in what Chesney had been like before.

“He was proper cranky and wired,” his owner explained.

“I had to spend hours with him calming him down.

“He’s bonded with me now, he’s still a bit funny with other people, but I can do anything with him.”

While in Flamstead, Hawkes also visited another Chesney – this time stuffed with straw – at the village scarecrow festival, and sang his 1991 hit The One and Only at the local pub.

“This is just another strange day in my strange life,” he joked.