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'Beast Of Hackney' Owned By Kula Shaker
The Quietus , May 24th, 2012 16:51

Mysterious creature actually dog belonging to drummer

Recently while wandering around our Hackney home, the Quietus has seen newspaper hoardings proclaiming "'Beast Of Hackney'- exclusive pictures" and heard mutterings in the local shop that something foul and huge and slavering of jaw was patrolling the grassland that lies between the Olympic Stadium and Tottenham Reservoirs. One woman, student Helen Murray, said she only just escaped from the animal, which left her terrified. "I tried to stay calm as I wasn’t sure what kind of animal it was or if it was even alive," she said. "I had my phone ready to call 999. Then the creature moved. Somehow I managed to take a couple of pictures before I ran. I managed to get away but was scared half to death."

However, after seeing photographs in local paper the Hackney Gazette, former Kula Shaker drummer Paul Winter-Hart recognised the creature as his Newfoundland dog, Willow.

"My husband recognised her straight away when he saw the paper," Winter-Hart's wife Nicole said. "He brought a copy to show me and said: 'Look. Willow's made the front page'. I knew it was her immediately. It is funny because our friends call her the Beast of Dunlace Road and now she is the Beast of Hackney Marshes."

It's not the first time a beast was feared to roam the Hackney area. The Gazette reports in 1981 there was a huge search after strange sightings when two dead bears had been found in the River Lea.