VILLAGERS in Hetton had a rather unusual gift blown into the area at Christmas.

Birdie, the bedraggled peacock, arrived in Hetton two days before Christmas and seems to have taken up residence, but nobody has a garden big enough to keep him properly.

Wendy Dewhirst, who lives on Back Lane, said at the moment Birdie was living in a neighbour's garden and looked very sorry for himself.

He is thought to have been attacked by a fox at some point where he lost most of his tail feathers.

Feeling sorry for the bird Wendy contacted the RSPCA and several bird sanctuaries hoping that someone would be able to rescue him.

As a last resort, Wendy contacted the Peacock hotline - yes there really is one - in Oregon. The website gave information on what to feed the bird.

Wendy said: "It would be great to keep him, but no one in the village has a big enough garden. He needs a home and needs rescuing."

She hoped that someone who knew how to care for the bird properly would come forward.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.