An escaped budgie has been adopted into a new family after an appeal to find its owners proved fruitless.

Birdie, as he has been christened, was taken in by his new household, after appearing out of nowhere when a young girl from Bean, near Dartford, was paying a visit to her loan pony at her local stables.

Mum Michelle Barker said: "Aimee was cuddling Moo when she saw the bird fly down in front of her and land next to her friend. So they caught it in a horse rug and bought it home."

"The bird was totally out of breath.We found a box and put some hay in it."

She admits that whilst they were all excited by their feathered visitor, they knew it was important to try and track-down his owners.

Michelle put a post onto the village residents' page on social media to trace its owners, but had no response.

Thinking they might have their companion for a few days, Michelle took action.

"Aimee and I flew down to the pet shop in Gravesend just before it closed. They don’t sell bird cages any more so we had to make do with an extra large hamster cage, along with food and treats. We also used some accessories we had from our old guinea pig cage."

Birdie has been living with the Barker family for almost a week and since moving in, Michelle says Birdie and Aimee have become best friends.

"He is currently living in the study and keeps Aimee and her sister, Elizabeth, company while they do their homework."

And the family dog, Buddy, is fascinated by the new arrival.

"He sits on the chair next to her cage or stands with both front paws on the side watching her," Michelle said.

Michelle, who works at a school, is hoping to get permission to take him into the classroom with her. "The kids would love it," she added.

As for his name, the rather unimaginative moniker came after their original idea had to be rejected.

"It was going to be called Barry - a family joke as my husband wanted to call our dog Barry," Michelle explained. "But we found out it was a girl."