AN ANGRY bird is preying on passers-by in a quiet lane near Bromyard.

People around Pencombe are watching their heads following a series of buzzard attacks.

Joggers, cyclists and horse riders have all been attacked near an orchard east of the village.

At least two people have been left slightly bloodied while another was left “seeing stars” after a swoop on a horse rider.

Student Charlotte Colley was the latest to be scarred.

The bird left its mark on the Bromyard siblings while they were cycling on the lane south of Halfway House.

“I was going past a big tree when the buzzard came up behind me and got me on the crown of my head,” said Charlotte.

“There was a cut and six claw marks, which looked like pin pricks.”

Locals say the attacks have occurred in the spring for the last three years.

Lyndsay Wake has vowed to avoid the lane since the buzzard picked at her helmet during a horse ride on bank holiday Monday. “I heard a woosh, then there was a knock and I was seeing stars,” said the Pencombe primary school teacher.

Louise Pedersen of the RSPB said: “The buzzard isn’t being vicious, it’s only protecting its nest. The best advice is to avoid that lane for a while.”