A burglar who broke into a Timperley pet shop and stole a much-loved parrot earlier this year has been jailed for six months.
Melvyn Gill, 47, from Wythenshawe Road in Wythenshawe, broke into Timperley Aquatics on Stockport Road and rode off with ‘Baby’, a Green-winged macaw, in the early hours of August 4th.
After three weeks without any sign, Baby was miraculously returned to its owner in emotional scenes on August 25th.
Watch Graham reunited with Baby:
Baby the parrot is back home at @timperleyzoo! Full, extraordinary story to follow #Altrincham pic.twitter.com/w2V9064ZTA
— Altrincham Today (@altrinchamtoday) August 25, 2015
Police discovered the £2,000 bird after a tip-off led them to Gill’s brother’s house, and fingerprint evidence and CCTV footage revealed Gill to be the culprit.
Gill, who appeared in court over a video link from HMP Manchester, was already wanted on recall for a separate offence and is not due to be released until 2019.
Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard he had smashed a window to gain entry into the pet shop and then used a reptile tank to break into Baby’s aviary.
Judging by the number of feathers left in the shop, a struggle had clearly ensued before Gill rode off with the bird – whose real named was Charlie – on the handlebars of his bike.
Eight-year-old Baby had been hand-reared by shop owner Graham Ralston from six weeks to six months and had looked after it since it was returned by a customer two years ago.
In an impact statement read in court, Ralston said: “I can’t believe how someone could cause such disregard to a beautiful loving creative which could have caused her death.
“To add salt to the wounds the offender refuses to tell police what he had done with baby or what he may have done to her. It is as though he has taken a family member.”
The court heard that Gill had a history of offending and had stolen the bird in order to fund his drug habit.
