A wildlife rescue charity in Diggle has helped reunite a stolen African Grey parrot with its owner after nine years.

Barney the African Grey was stolen on August 17, 2017, when burglars broke into a home and took the bird along with electrical items. It is believed he was forced into a hessian sack before the offenders fled.

He was found in the car park of the IKEA store in Ashton-under-Lyne on July 30 and taken to the Carr Lane centre, run by Hillary Harry and Friends Wildlife Rescue.

Staff spent two days trying to identify his owner. A microchip check, carried out after Barney was initially taken to Animal Trust Vets in Ashton-under-Lyne, revealed that the contact details were no longer up to date.

Eventually, a Google search using Barney's name and age uncovered news reports from 2017 about an African Grey parrot stolen during a burglary in Bradford, West Yorkshire. That discovery led rescuers to the original police crime reference number and ultimately to Barney's owner, Mr Mortimer.

His first response was reportedly: "He's not alive."

Rescuers were able to tell him that Barney was indeed alive and well, and on August 5 the pair were finally reunited in what was described as an emotional meeting nearly nine years after they were separated.