Meet Hank the Honker, the disabled goose that gets VIP treatment in Milton Keynes

A disabled goose at Willen Lake is the subject of numerous calls from the public, who are worried about his condition.

But in fact Hank the Honker, though he may look pitiful, is living the life of luxury, the Citizen can reveal.

He was born last year with a condition called Angel Wing, a genetic defect that means the wings do not form.

The condition is pain free but it means Hank cannot fly like the rest of his Canada Goose clan. And because of this, a band of local bird lovers as well as volunteers from MK Swan Rescue group keep a very special eye on him at his Willen Lake home.

"Hank is very well loved and cared for, and actually the fattest little goose there as people take pity on him and feed him constantly,” said rescue volunteer Allie Short.

"We receive messages of concern about Hank regularly, sometimes multiple reports in the same day, and it’s lovely that people care. But really, he’s fine.”

Many people think that Honk has been badly injured or picked on by other members of the flock. In fact, he pretty much rules the roost at Willen and knows exactly how to persuade human visitors to the lake to feed him.

All the attention and extra food has made him very tame and he will approach people with a distinctive honk to demand a tasty titbit, which he will take very gently from their hands.

His special friend is Philippa, the local lady who first found him and visits him regularly. This week she released a special video to show just how happy Hank is to see people. It shows him responding ardorably to voices and “replying” loudly.

Angel Wing is caused by the last joint of the wing flipping the wrong way while the birds are in the rapid stages of growth.

"If caught in time it can be fixed in just days by carefully strapping the wing into the correct position, but it has to be done while the bones are still soft enough and this unfortunately wasn’t done for Hank,” said Allie.

“We get masses and masses of calls and messages about angel wing birds as it looks alarming. Most birds cope just fine with it, but they can’t usually fly.”

There’s some speculation that angel wing is caused by feeding bread, said Allie. But she and other experts disagree.

"This claim has been made repeatedly despite an absolute lack of scientific evidence to support it and has only served to increase the sales of expensive floating pellets -which are made of almost the same ingredients as bread.”

Allie added: “Hank is probably the best fed goose in the area as so many people know him and take pity on him. He can’t fly so won’t ever be able to travel around with his flock like other geese do, but he is perfectly happy and living his best life where he is.”