A man caught stuffing a headless swan corpse into his rucksack has said he did not know what bird it was.

Hasan Fidan, 46, was fined after an angler snapped him packing the creature into a bag at a beauty spot in Hildenborough.

Bob Morris, who runs a rod company at the Swan Business Park in Sandpit Road, Dartford, watched in horror as Fidan killed the bird.

The incident happened on March 18 at at the scenic 18-acre Bennett's Lake and police later found remnants of the bird in Fidan's freezer.

However the Evening Standard has spoken to Fidan who has revealed he likes the Queen “very much”.

Yesterday (June 2) Fidan  told the newspaper: “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.”

He was arrested after Mr Morris saw the incident unfold whilst he was fishing.

News Shopper: Swan-killer caught by angler whilst stuffing headless corpse into rucksack

The 64-year-old said: "He grabbed the swan and sat down on it and then took out a knife and cut its head off.

"I was stunned - I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

Mr Morris, who is a volunteer bailiff, took a photo as Fidan stuffed the swan's body into his rucksack.

Thanks to the snap, police soon discovered the swan killer's identity and tracked him down to his home in Tonbridge 10 days after the incident.

Police confirmed the photo taken by Mr Morris was used to identify the swan-killer when he was spotted at another lake on March 28.

Mr Morris - whose book Carping Aside was published last year - said police had discovered the swan cut up into portions in a freezer at Fidan’s home.

At Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on May 27, Fidan was handed a £110 fine, with £85 in court costs and a £20 victim surcharge - a total of £215 - after pleading guilty to killing a wild bird.