BBC producer faces £6k fine for filming polar bear attack on presenter in cage

A BBC team who captured the moment their presenter was attacked in a cage by a polar bear could face a £6,000 fine - for disturbing the animal.

Gordon Buchanan spent a terrifying 40 minutes in a clear perspex box, dubbed the 'ice cube', as the seemingly hungry bear tried to dismantle the cage and claw its way in.

The scenes from the incident were shown on the BBC2 documentary The Polar Bear Family And Me in January.

But the man who caught the footage on camera, producer Jason Roberts, has come under fire from the authorities in Svalbard, in Norway's Arctic Circle.

Lars Erik Alfheim, the vice-governor of Svalbard, sent the Australian a letter saying he had 'disturbed' the animal. According to The Sun, it read: "By luring the polar bear to the cage it is disturbing it.

"If the polar bear had managed to get into the cage it would have been in immediate danger of being shot by the surrounding production team before it managed to injure the TV host."

According to the Daily Mail, Mr Roberts, who has two weeks to reply, said: "In 22 years of filming bears I've never had any need to shoot a bear or use equipment to frighten one away.

"The vice-governor is making an example of me."

Mr Buchanan added: "This is complete news to me. There are no grounds for any kind of prosecution. It is local politics."

Watch the video footage here:

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