Bear Grylls reality TV star loses £500,000 court fight with neighbours after noisy work at his home 'killed' their prized racing falcons

Published: 11:19, 7 July 2026 | Updated: 11:22, 7 July 2026 A reality TV star has lost a £500,000 court fight with neighbours who claimed noisy work at his home killed their prized racing falcons. Former London art dealer Barnes Thomas - who appeared on hit Bear Grylls show The Island - became embroiled in a bitter local row in St Just, Cornwall after he was blamed for causing the deaths of three gyr falcons with his noisy building work. The birds belonged to Raptors of Penwith Ltd, which is run by brothers Martin Nicholas 43, and Scott Nicholas, 45, and included one race-winner worth £150k. Mr Thomas, 40, and his company Upper Cot Estate Limited were in turn slapped with a compensation and costs bill of around £500,000 at the High Court in Bristol last year. A judge found that for three days a JCB bucket had been raised in the birds' line of sight during breeding season and ruled that they had died due to 'stress created by the acts of nuisance'. The TV star appealed, claiming it was 'unfair' to be blamed for the deaths of 'incredibly sensitive' birds of prey, but has now seen his challenge thrown out at the Court of Appeal after three judges returned a split decision. Agreeing with the previous judge's findings, Lady Justice Whipple said Mr Thomas and his company 'should not be able to act with complete disregard for the interests of their neighbours in the way they have done'. Mr Thomas has long been viewed as a 'controversial' member of the local community and even described himself as maybe 'the most hated man' in the village, the court heard. Barnes Thomas pictured on Bear Grylls show The Island. He has lost a £500k court fight with neighbours who claimed noisy work at his home killed their racing falcons Scaffolding pictured outside Mr Thomas's home in St Just, Cornwall. A judge found that a JCB bucket had been raised in the birds' line of sight  Martin Nicholas, pictured, and his brother Scott sued Mr Thomas and in turn a judge handed the TV star a hefty bill He described appearing on survival skills show The Island in 2018 as the 'worst experience of my entire life' after packing a velvet coat, sleeping in an ants' nest and accidentally burning his socks over a fire. Mr Thomas then set up his own farm on the edge of the idyllic Cornish village of St Just, close to Land's End. He built a lake on his land and temporarily removed a stile on a public footpath, causing 'opposition within the wider neighbourhood', according to Judge Jonathan Russen KC at the High Court trial last year. A 'bitter' row then erupted between the former art dealer and the Nicholas brothers and had soon 'acquired real momentum...over a relatively short space of time', the judge added. The Nicholas brothers were running their raptor business on adjoining land, breeding gyr and peregrine falcons, which they sold to be used in falcon races in Dubai.    After three of the birds died, the brothers sued for nuisance and negligence, arguing noisy work on Mr Thomas's land during breeding season had caused the deaths, reduced overall breeding and resulted in egg loss, with some birds damaging them. Scott Nicholas said the sight of the JCB digger had caused them to 'go mental at the sight of this alien object'. They claimed the works breached a duty of care 'not to cause or permit the falcons to suffer excessive noise or visual threats, in particular during the breeding season'. Judge Russen said he was convinced the actions of Mr Thomas and his company had caused the deaths. He said Mr Thomas had been told to avoid excessive noise and visual disturbances between March and June but that videos taken in the incubation room during the works showed the 'noise upsetting the birds'. Judge Russen added: 'With the bucket [of the digger] raised next to the aviary for three days, the machine broke the line of sight of at least some birds in the western pens.' He ordered Mr Thomas to pay his neighbours' company about £300,000 in compensation and interest and more than £180,000 towards the breeders' lawyers' bills, on top of his own court costs.  Appealing to three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in February, Mr Thomas's barrister Tom Weekes KC said erecting a barn and store materials for his scaffolding business were all 'common and ordinary use of land'. He added that, in contrast, the brothers' use of their land was for a 'particularly sensitive trade'. The Nicholas brothers' falconry, pictured left, with a public footpath bordering Mr Thomas's construction site and home Pictured: Scott Nicholas. An appeal supported the initial verdict which said the noisy work caused the death of the gyr falcons Barnes Thomas, pictured left, outside the Court of Appeal. He has long been viewed as a 'controversial' member of the local community Mr Weekes said it would be 'unfair' if bird-breeding next door limited Mr Thomas's use of his own property, likening it to London Zoo moving giraffes to residential areas and suing locals if they were not quiet during breeding times. In their judgment, three judges gave split decisions, with Lady Justice Whipple saying Mr Thomas and his company were liable in nuisance and negligence. Lord Justice Nugee on the other hand said they were liable in negligence only, while Lord Justice Moylan found them not liable at all. This meant they remain liable in negligence and their appeal was dismissed.  'This appeal is another chapter in this long-running saga, which has consumed a great deal of time and money for both sets of litigants,' said Lady Justice Whipple.