Owl enthusiast Chris Ashwin hopes his success in breeding a female owl will mean the revival of an endangered species.

Mr Ashwin from Didcot, has successfully reared Mackinder's Eagle Owls, but has bred only males - until now. He hopes that starting another pair breeding will boost numbers of the rare bird, which comes from Kenya, in Africa.

Mr Ashwin, 55, a weighbridge operator at Didcot power station, said: "There are very few of these owls in the wild - their numbers have dropped dramatically.

"The only real hope for them is to have them bred in captivity and then returned to the wild."

His collection began when he found an injured tawny owl in the road 15 years ago. He rescued it and was captivated by the species.

He said: "I'm owl-mad - it's as simple as that.

"When you have successes like this and can bring hope that your efforts will save a species from extinction, it's well worth it."