December 3, 2024
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SO SAD: Canvey man claims his three heart attacks” were caused by pigeon forge rod Run and not 60-a-day cigarette habit…

An Essex man who suffered three heart attacks and a stroke claimed that they were caused by the poo of his racing pigeons and not his 60-a-day cigarette habit. Canvey Island man Stan Harris, 84, suffered three heart attacks in 1987 and a stroke in 2000 – but claims he was told that it was down to his pigeons.

He told Essex Live: “The biggest joke of all was that the heart attacks weren’t caused by fags – I used to smoke about 60 a day – but [they were caused by] racing pigeon droppings. A few years ago, I had somebody somewhere along the line send a letter to our doctors, and said to me, my heart attacks were nothing to do with my smoking

And it has to do with pigeons. I used to keep about 200, but what comes out of their droppings gets into your lungs and affects your heart, so I had to give them up.”

After his heart attacks, there was nothing to do but carry on. Stan said: “I just got on with life. You know, it’s not too bad that I stopped smoking, and don’t exert myself too much.

He now spends his time building and riding the motorbike his wife and son gifted him for Christmas one year, enjoying life, and refusing to be phased by his experiences.

Proud member of Maldon British Motorcycle Owners club, after falling in love with motorbikes aged 16, Stan’s heart attacks were not the first time he had experienced some pretty scary health concerns. Stan’s big passion is his motorbike, which he first discovered after a farming accident as a teenager.
It all began with a Matchless 350 he bought for his 16th birthday, having already ordered and received his licence in advance. He had a pot of money available from compensation he received following a farming accident at work, when his foot became trapped in the lift section of a plough

Speaking to Forever Bikes, Stan said: “My eldest sister’s husband was a dispatch rider in the army, and he said he’d get me a bike from a fellow he knew,” he remembers. “It cost me £45, which I could afford with the £100 compensation. Now uses his love of bikes to continue to enjoy life after health scares.

Before embarking on a 4,000-mile European motorcycle tour with his wife, Jean, and another couple on Gold Wings. Stan said that he just wanted to enjoy life, and used his time enjoying himself, building the motorbike he had been given by his wife and son.

Stan and Jean’s son, Peter, who had contributed to giving him the parts for the bike, sadly died suddenly of a heart attack some years ago, aged 45, just two years younger than Stan was when he suffered with his heart attacks aged 47.

Determined to keep positive, Stan reflects, “we’ve had a good life, a damn good life.

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