THE Kites at Weyhill Hawk Conservancy have been helping to re-enact history.

With the aid of Falconer Clive Chester they have been filming a sequence for a forthcoming BBC documentary.

Among other things the BBC is showing how Kites used to steal people's hats in the streets of London.

Dorritt, a Red Kite, has been trained to snatch a hat off Clive's head as he walked along in clothes similar to those worn by diarist Samuel Pepys.

"Kites are quite clever birds, always willing to exploit any opportunity.

"In the old days, when they were common in London, they would even snatch food from people's hands as they walked in the street," explained Clive.