AN ELDERLY couple have been left devastated after their family pet was stolen. Sparky the cockatoo, who is named after the song Sparky and the Magic Piano, went missing from his aviary in Corbylands Road, Sidcup.

Sparky is a 45-year-old Australian orange crested cockatoo and can be identified by his distinctive white feathers and yellow plume.

Owner Ron Borrett, 76, last saw Sparky on April 8 but the bird was missing when he went back to the aviary to feed it at 1pm the next day.

The couple got the bird during the 1960s from a Dartford pet shop.

Mr Borrett said: "You would get £750 to £800 for her on the black market. I would like to wring the person's neck who stole her."

Retired nurse Mrs Borrett, 72, said: "I was so upset when I realised she had gone, she was such a big part of the family."

A Bexley police spokesman said: "We have been informed of the bird's disappearance and we will tell the owners if anyone has a sighting of her."

Anyone with information should call the newsdesk on 01698 885716.