An unemployed man today said he would take £1,000 from his savings account to get his missing parrot back.

Rick Gillam, 58, of Sparkbridge, Laindon, was made redundant last year and decided to go on holiday with his wife to cheer up.

But when the couple returned they were devastated to hear their four-year-old parrot, Jasper, had gone missing from the bird centre he was staying at.

The disappearance of their cherished pet was the last straw for the couple, who had just returned from a "holiday from hell" in Benidorm.

Jasper, a south American black headed caique parrot, was staying at a bird centre near West Horndon, where it was born, when it went missing on Sunday. Mr Gillam is so keen to get the parrot he has put up a reward of £1,000.

He said: "We just want him back because he is a family member. We cannot near afford it but we will do it because he is our baby."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Pegasus Birds centre in Warley Hall Lane, near West Horndon.

Published Thursday, March 14, 2002