Man hopes hobby will 'make him live a little longer'

A craftsman has said building owl boxes has "given him purpose" after his cancer diagnosis.

Rob Stephenson said he first started crafting owl nest boxes in Keswick when he was 12-years-old, but after a recent incurable pancreatic cancer diagnosis he was unable to work.

The 63-year-old said: "What can I do to make me live a little longer?", adding he loved "working with his hands and brain" so he began building custom-made boxes for tawny, barn, and little owls in Cumbria.

He said the project has made him "light up", and "when you go through tough times in life, you've got to get the good out of bad".

Stephenson said he has had a "fascination with owls and all birds" since he was small.

He said he "always wanted" to pursue crafting owl boxes, but never had enough time until his recent cancer diagnosis which meant he could not work.

Stephenson said he charged only for materials and petrol for the boxes, which help create a nesting habitat for the birds of prey.

West Cumbria Rivers Trust said: "Because owls naturally rely on hollows in dead, mature trees to nest, and because those old-growth trees are so scarce in our modern landscape, these handcrafted boxes give native owls a vital helping hand".

"I thought I'd started making one or two, but it's snowballed and gone bonkers...so many people have got in touch," Stephenson said.

"Every time I go for a scan and it comes back, I think, 'what can I do to make me live longer?"

"The answer is always, keep building the boxes.

"It brings me massive enjoyment...the project makes me light up," he added

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