An elderly man from Bearsted whose pet budgie died in lockdown has been given a new companion thanks to an act of kindness by his neighbours.

Trevor, 42, and Delyth North, 41, live next door to 93-year-old bird enthusiast Dave Diprose.

When he told the family his beloved budgie Lilly passed away, Trevor desperately took on the challenge of finding him a new feathered friend.

Delyth said: "Dave used to talk to the bird all the time, it was a reason to get up in the morning so when we heard it died we were concerned he'd have nothing to keep him occupied.

"His son-in-law, who regularly checks in, was also telling me he was struggling to find another budgie because all the pet shops had closed.

"That's when my husband decided to tweet Maidstone's Pets at Home."

Less than 24-hours after contacting the store, Dave had a new companion named Lenny delivered to his door step.

Delyth added: “Trevor sent the message in the evening and by lunchtime the next day the head office phoned saying they found him one. By 3pm, two members of the Pets at Home team bought a budgie over to Dave’s house.

“It was completely free of charge and it even came with a brand new cage and some gift vouchers to spend on food. Dave looked so pleased, it was lovely to see - it was a complete surprise.”

Trevor and Delyth's children Rhys, nine, and Carys, six, welcomed Lenny to the street by waving through the window.

Dave’s son-in-law Chris Lane says the budgie has settled in well. He added: “Dave talks to him all the time and he’s full of beans. It’s definitely helped having someone else to chat to.”

Inspired by the heart warming story, Rhys, decided to write about it for his homework.

Delyth added: "I've been trying to think of some ideas to do some writing so we decided to write a newspaper article.

"At first we planned to write a report about Harry Potter but after that happened, he decided to write about something real and this seemed the perfect fit."

A spokesman for Pets at Home said: “We are so delighted to hear stories of our colleagues going above and beyond for their local communities.

“What’s really heart-warming is that we don’t actually sell birds, so this particular colleague really did go out of their way to help Dave and ensure he had a companion in Lenny.”

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