SEVENTEEN years after being ordered to build an owl-friendly refuge, a retired builder has finally come face-to-face with a feathered intruder.

Les Cheesman, aged 86, converted his derelict barn buildings in Coombeinteignhead into a plush thatched cottage back in 2002.

Planning officers and conservation experts at the time approved his designs but requested he put in an access hole for any owls wanting to roost.Read story in this week's paper.