'Why do I have to wrap myself up in barbed wire?' Chris Packham says he 'resents' having to protect his home with security fencing and CCTV cameras as he faces death threats and online trolling due to his campaigning

Chris Packham has revealed he 'resents' the need for CCTV cameras and security fences around his New Forest home as a victim of ongoing online trolling and death threats.

The Springwatch star, who is vocal about his opposition to fox and bird hunters, admits he constantly reads through vicious comments from trolls despite warnings from his partner Charlotte not to look at them. 

He says the trolling is becoming worse every day, but it's the physical threats that shock him.

Mr Packham revealed he resents having to have CCTV cameras around his home to protect him as he feels like he 'has to wrap himself up in barbed wire'. 

'There's one thing I really resent, it's having to live in an area where we've got fences and cameras and all sorts of other technology just to protect us physically,' he told the Mirror's Men in Mind podcast. 

'I'm just a normal bloke. Why do I have to wrap myself up in barbed wire? That is really unpleasant.' 

Chris Packham at home in Hampshire pictured with his dogs Itchy and Scratchy

Chris Packham at home in Hampshire pictured with his dogs Itchy and Scratchy

Springwatch: Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, Iolo Williams and Gillian Burke

Springwatch: Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan, Iolo Williams and Gillian Burke 

Speaking of the vicious messages he receives online, Mr Packham added: 'It's getting worse literally every day. But it doesn't impinge on me at all. If anything, I would say sometimes it perversely encourages me to try harder.' 

Referring to a time he says the gates outside his house were blown up, he said he dealt with it by making a table from the burned remains. 

Television star Mr Packham has previously claimed that a Land Rover was blown up by hate campaigners outside his home's front gate in October 2021. The alleged attack destroyed two large wooden gates.

Packham has also in the past had dead animals strung up at the gates of his home, has been sent packages of human excrement, had barbed wire left on his drive to puncture his tyres, and found dead crows hung from his gate.

But the campaigner told the podcast he will still continue to use his voice. 

Mr Packham also used the podcast, which is working with the mental health charity Mind, to open up about the moment he tried to end his own life after the death of his beloved dog who had been 'holding his world together'. 

Damage to Chris Packham's house gates in 2021

Damage to Chris Packham's house gates in 2021

The Springwatch star, who is vocal about his opposition to fox and bird hunters, admits he constantly reads through vicious comments from trolls despite warnings from his partner Charlotte not to look at them

The Springwatch star, who is vocal about his opposition to fox and bird hunters, admits he constantly reads through vicious comments from trolls despite warnings from his partner Charlotte not to look at them

The Springwatch star said he was not prepared as his dog Fish, who was run over, bled to death in his arms. 

In the heartbreaking and honest new interview, he said he felt suicidal in the aftermath but didn't kill himself because he didn't have enough pills. 

Mr Packham also spoke about how scared he felt in the aftermath of wanting to take his own life.

He said he went to his GP and soon began a series of therapy sessions that lasted three years. 

He said he found the therapy tough, and recalls standing on the pavement outside a session once and feeling like he had been 'hit by a train'.

The TV host said he felt like he could barely breathe as everything that had been locked up inside him was coming out.  

He told the podcast, he never wanted to get back to that point of counting pills ever again.

Mr Packham said he knew other traumas would come up in his life, whatever they may be, and he didn't want to be in the same position. 

But he recalled another occasion at the start of his therapy journey where he 'came close' to killing himself, but what kept him going this time were his dogs. 

And he said he continued to trust the therapy process, knowing it had worked for others.

Contact Samaritans for free on 116 123, email them at [email protected] or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

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