Danny's Lost 300 Birds — Cleator Moor's Helping Him Get the Loft Back Cleator Moor Pigeon Fancier Determined to Rebuild After Fire Kills 300 Birds
Marra Mode is how we'd tell you this in the Co-op. Switch it off for the straight version.
Fire took the loft on a Cleator Moor allotment in July — 300 of Danny Rodgers' birds gone. The town's already put £17,000 in so he and his dad can start again.
If you keep pigeons in Cleator Moor, or you put a few quid in after that allotment fire, this is yours.
Danny Rodgers lost 300 of his birds on 17 July. The loft he keeps with his dad, Ken Biggs, went up on a Cleator Moor allotment. A neighbour woke him about five in the morning. He went straight over. Firefighters were already on it, and the loft was gone.
He said: "It was all a bit of a daze, it seemed unreal, but sadly it was too real."
That morning they were ready to jack it in. "It isn't the money at all, it was the pigeons and the way they died, it's something you never forget and never get over."
Then the neighbours and other fanciers turned up, cleared the mess, and started putting money in. Brian Fitzsimmons, another fancier, set up the fundraiser to rebuild the loft. It's at £17,000 so far.
Danny said: "The support, generosity, and just basically encouragement to carry on has given us the determination to get back - I want to thank everyone for that."
Brian said: "It's a testament that people in West Cumbria are absolutely fantastic, Cleator Moor is a place where we all pull together when it's needed."
The write-up's on BBC Cumbria if you want the original.
Danny Rodgers lost 300 pigeons in a fire at a Cleator Moor allotment on 17 July. A fundraiser to rebuild the loft he keeps with his father has raised £17,000.
This is for anyone in Cleator Moor who keeps pigeons, and for the neighbours who have already chipped in after the allotment fire.
Danny Rodgers lost 300 of his birds on 17 July 2026 when fire destroyed the loft he keeps with his father, Ken Biggs, on a Cleator Moor allotment. A neighbour woke him at about 5am. He went straight over and found firefighters on the blaze. The loft was already gone.
"It was all a bit of a daze, it seemed unreal, but sadly it was too real," he said. That morning they came close to giving up. "It isn't the money at all, it was the pigeons and the way they died, it's something you never forget and never get over."
Neighbours and other fanciers helped clear the debris. Fellow fancier Brian Fitzsimmons set up a fundraiser to rebuild the loft and help Rodgers and his father start again. It has raised £17,000 so far.
Rodgers said: "The support, generosity, and just basically encouragement to carry on has given us the determination to get back - I want to thank everyone for that."
Fitzsimmons said: "It's a testament that people in West Cumbria are absolutely fantastic, Cleator Moor is a place where we all pull together when it's needed."
The original report is on BBC Cumbria.