A bereft couple have offered a £200 reward for the safe return of their pet parrot after it was stolen from a West Horndon bird shop where it was being boarded.

George and Janice Gillam, who live in Laindon, had lodged the four-year-old bird - a black-headed caique parrot called Jasper - at Pegasus Birds in Little Warley Hall Lane while they enjoyed a weekend away.

But on returning home on Tuesday they learned that their beloved pet, which has a market value of £600, had been stolen during trading hours on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Gillam said: "We're devastated. We just want him back. We're hoping that whoever had taken him has just done so on the spur of the moment."

Brentwood police are now probing the theft and have issued a description of Jasper, who is around twice the size of a budgie. He has a black cap, a yellow face, green wings and a white stomach.

Anyone with information is asked to call Brentwood Police on 01277 262212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

Published Wednesday, March 20, 2002