A ROAD accident in a wildlife paradise has claimed the life of one of Herefordshire's most colourful characters, 'Bird Man' Miles Baddeley.

The international wildlife photographer and naturalist was riding a motorcycle in the Langkawi islands of Malaysia when a dog running into the road is thought to have caused him to crash.

Mr Baddeley, who was in his late 60s, fractured his skull and slipped into a coma. He was taken on a four-hour journey - including an hour on a ferry - to a mainland hospital where he was put on a life support machine. He did not regain consciousness.

"Miles was a one-off," said Keith Fraser who knew him for more than 30 years. "There was no one quite like him. His death is a great loss."

The eccentric former businessman, who once regularly flew with a pet puma in his light aircraft between Shobdon and Manchester, quit commerce and settled in a Herefordshire forest hideaway.

He became known as the 'bird man' and had a particular love for birds of prey. Garden birds fed from his hand.

Mr Baddeley travelled the globe as a wildlife consultant. He stayed on in Malaysia after speaking last October at an Asia Pacific 'eco tourism' conference with David Bellamy. In his talk the famous gesticulating professor described the 99 tropical islands of Langkawi as 'paradise'.

Mr Baddeley had long known the paradise. In 1995 he embraced Islam and was given the name Ghazali. The following year he met and married a local woman, Gie.

In Herefordshire, she and Miles created a beautiful garden with ponds and many eastern features. They attracted hundreds of visitors and raised more than £1,000 for the Red Cross last August.

Red Cross county president Karin Johnson, a friend of the couple, was devastated by the news.

"People like Miles are few and far between. He talked to people continually at the event, gave them guided tours and showed them baby owls and other creatures.

"From being a businessman he came to Herefordshire to live a rustic lifestyle that could be tough when the water dried up. Few have the courage to do what he did."

Miles Baddeley, who had two daughters from a previous marriage, once ran a successful Manchester store.

He fell in love with Herefordshire during trips to Shobdon Airfield and moved to the area in the 1970s. A lifelong love affair with animals blossomed, though his pet puma Khan escaped and was shot dead by a nervy neighbour.

His household companions often consisted of owls, buzzards and creatures recovering after mishaps. He erected hundreds of bird nesting boxes in the local forests and, in recent years, he won a wildlife photography contest by capturing an "unrepeatable moment" - a muntjac deer and a rabbit rubbing noses.

He was buried at Langkawi within 24 hours of his death.