STIAN ALEXANDER / AP Hasan Fidan pictured by angler Bob Morris as he throws the swan's headless body into his backpack

Hasan Fidan, 46, was photographed by angler Bob Morris leaping over the fence at Bennett's Lake, Kent, before quickly beheading and cramming the swan into his blood-red backpack. Mr Morris, 64, said: "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I tried to take his rucksack from him, but he grabbed it and ran off" Officers traced Fidan to his Kent home and discovered the diced remains of the bird amongst food in his freezer.

I took out the feathers, I cut it up and ate some of it. I wanted to see what it tasted like. It tasted nice. Hasan Fidan

Last week Sevenoaks magistrates' court fined Fidan a total of £215 after he admitted to a single count of killing a wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Under legislation dating back to the 12th Century all mute swans belong to the Monarch - a fact of which Turkish born Fidan admits he was unaware. Unemployed Fidan, who has lived in Britain since 2006, said: “I did not know what type of bird it was. For me it was any type of bird. I didn't know the Queen owned them. "I like the Queen very much. The moment the police told me what I did was wrong, I said I was sorry."