NORTHERN Echo the racing pigeon is preparing for her final race of the year this weekend.

But the feisty hen will be hurrying home without the incentive to which breeder Peter Matthews attributed her recent winning form.

Earlier this month Northern Echo winged her way to her first victory after a testing 270-mile race.

Mr Matthews, of Cockfield in County Durham, believed she may have been eager to get back to twin eggs in her nest.

But now the yearling appears to have lost interest in the clutch, and motherhood.

Nevertheless Mr Matthews is still hopeful she can end her season with another win, particularly since she will be flying from the same starting point, at Wanstead Flatts, near London.

"I was hoping she would be staying on the eggs so it would provide the motivation to get home quicker, but she left them," said Mr Matthews, who is hoping that favourable winds could make up for the loss.

Whatever happens, Northern Echo will be settling down for a well-earned rest after tomorrow's race until the spring.

She may even try for a family again.