Byline: By Nathan Bevan Wales on Sunday

With his Rolex watch and a flash set of wheels, there's no wonder Derek Nichols has lots of birds flocking around him.

But that's because the 48-year-old former builder from Barry is the P Diddy of pigeon racing, with his flamboyant approach to the fast-growing sport putting the 'coo' in tycoon.

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'The days of pigeon fancying as a mere hobby are coming to an end,' said Derek, whose auctioning off of specially-bred pigeons for tens of thousands of pounds has helped feather his family's nest.

Thanks to his 1,700 winged wonders, he drives around town in a new Mercedes Jeep with a personalised number plate, COO5 PAY. Derek's wife, Andrea, 45, gets a pounds 52,000 Lexus convertible as a run around to get to get her to and from her job as a carer.

'Her number plate is DOO4 HER, doo being the old Celtic word for pigeon,' said Derek, who, in the best tradition of proud dads everywhere - at least the very minted ones - has also forked out to pay for his 25-year-old daughter Rene's forthcoming wedding. 'I can't tell you how much it cost though or the wife would kill me,' he joked.

But the high-flyer is less shy when it comes to crowing about the money-spinning empire he built for himself over the years.

'My annual turnover is pounds 250,000 - amazing isn't it, making good money out of something you love,' said Derek, who also enters international competitions in pursuit of their glittering six-figure prizes.

'Last year, one of my pigeons came second in the Million Dollar Pigeon Race in South Africa, which earned me pounds 120,000,' he added.

Nice work if you can get it, and it makes it more understandable why Andrea, who met Derek when she was still in her teens, has never minded not being the only bird in his life.

'We were childhood sweethearts and when I caught his eye his chat-up line was, 'Hello missus, do you want to see my pigeons?',' she laughed.

'Naturally, I said yes and we've been together ever since.'

But Andrea added that, what for some may seem a flight of fancy, has for her husband meant years of hard graft.

'Yes, Derek's made good money but he's slogged to get where he is, working with his birds 12 hours a day, seven days a week,' she said.

Pigeons have been a fascination for Derek ever since he was a young boy visiting his grandad Hayward, a keen bird-lover himself, at his home in Pontypool.

'He'd tell me stories about where they'd come from because he had ones from all over the world, I was fascinated,' smiled Derek.

But it wasn't until the age of 12 that Derek got his first loft-racing pigeon and he worked three paper rounds to save up enough money to pay for an entire year's membership at the local pigeon racing club.

'My dad always thought it was a waste of time,' he added.

'If only he'd known that I'd be making a pounds 20,000 a day from racing them later in life, I'm sure then he'd have changed his mind!'

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