Bristol family appeals for pet parrot's return

A family has made a plea for the return of their talkative parrot after it was stolen by burglars.

Chris and Sue Harvey were devastated when they returned home from work to find blue-fronted Amazon parrot Archie's cage open after their house on Pilgrims Wharf, St Anne's, had been raided.

The seven-year-old exotic pet is being treated for a condition which means he plucks feathers from his wings and the couple are becoming increasingly worried he could be in danger now he is in the wrong hands.

Chris, 38, told the Post: "We're very concerned. Archie is part of the family and we really miss him.

"He's being treated for his condition through his diet at the moment and is quite peculiar with his food anyway, so it's important he's looked after properly. Archie's friendly with people he knows but he sometimes tries to take your finger off, given the chance."

Chris was returning home from his job as an IT trainer for QA and Sue, 41, was coming back from her job at AXA at about 4.45pm last Thursday, when they discovered Archie was missing.

The kitchen window was open and more than £4,000 worth of property was stolen from the house, including Chris's laptop and some of Sue's jewellery.

Also gone were about 40 pairs of Chris's cuff links, including a pair with Formula One legend Ayrton Senna's yellow crash helmet on them.

It is believed the house was burgled between 1.30pm and 2pm. Sue's son Jimmy, 16, came home later that afternoon and went upstairs to get ready for rugby practice but didn't notice anything unusual.

Bright bird Archie is talkative and has been owned by the family for two years, since his previous owners emigrated to Spain. His favourite sayings include "Archie wants a tickle" and "Archie, good boy". He also says "hello" and "all right".

Chris said: "Our house backs onto the river and Archie's cage is by the window. We usually keep the blinds shut but I would imagine the culprits have come past when the blinds have been open and seen him.

"One of us has usually been home during the day, so I think they must have been watching the house for a while.

"To get him home safely would be absolutely fantastic. If anyone even hears a noise and thinks it could be him, we would ask them to give us a call."

Chris is offering a £200 reward for Archie's safe return and is putting up posters in local shops.

Despite his breed, the parrot has no blue markings on his front. His wings do not have as many feathers as they should and his left wing in particular has wounds from his pecking. He can, however, still fly.

Also missing is Sue's white gold engagement ring, which has a blue topaz stone, and her childhood charm bracelet, made of gold.

If anyone sees Archie or knows where he is, ring Chris on 0778 750 4197.