‘Beast of Hackney Marshes’ - has Kula Shaker drummer solved the mystery?
The mystery of the “Beast of Hackney Marshes” may have become a little less mysterious – the drummer from Kula Shaker believes the monster is none other than his massive pet dog, Willow.
Last week, the Gazette published photographs taken by terrified student Helen Murray who says she saw a huge animal as she walked through woods near the River Lea earlier this month.
“I managed to get away but was scared half to death,” she said, adding that the creature was bigger than a person and covered in shaggy black fur.
But within a day of the Gazette appearing on newstands, Paul Winter-Hart, the drummer from the 1990s chart-topping group, reckoned he’d solved the mystery.
Paul’s wife Nicole contacted us to say she “beast” looked suspiciously similar to the family’s pet pooch.
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“I’m still laughing,” said the 42-year-old, who designs clothes for the children’s fashion website www.nixieclothing.com. “I think this poor girl, Helen, saw Willow our dog.
“My husband recognised her straight away when he saw the paper. He bought a copy to show me and said, ‘Look, Willow’s made the front page!’
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“I knew it was her immediately. It’s funny because our friends call her ‘The Beast’ and now she’s ‘The Beast of Hackney Marshes’!”
Willow is a four-year-old Newfoundland, a giant breed of dog, and Nicole and Paul, 40, and the couple’s children Ivy, 12, and Faye, nine, often walk her along the river near their home in Lower Clapton.
Nicole said: “I don’t know where we were when those pictures were taken - Willow must have run up ahead of us.”
Chunky Willow stands over 5ft tall when she is on her hind legs, but Helen, who was frightened on the Marshes, doesn’t believe the family pet is the monster she saw.
“That dog is so cute,” she said, when the Gazette showed her photos of Willow.
“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a dog as it was far too big. And its build wasn’t dog-like.”
• What do you think? Is Willow the Beast of Hackney Marshes or does something else stalk the area? Write to us at hackneygazetteletters@archant.co.uk.
