Parrot stolen during burglary nine years ago finally reunited with owner after being found hopping around Ikea car park

By JAMES TOZER, NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT Published: 15:35, 7 August 2026 | Updated: 15:35, 7 August 2026 When Robert Mortimer’s beloved pet parrot Barney was stolen by burglars who ransacked his home in 2017, he pulled out all the stops to track down his feathered companion. The father-of-five pinned up posters around the neighbourhood asking for sightings of his talkative bird, offering a £500 reward for its safe return. But as the days turned into weeks, the delivery driver was forced to accept that Barney – like the lifeless Norwegian blue in the Monty Python sketch – was an ex-parrot. So he was astonished to receive a phone call this week to be told that his long-lost African grey had been found abandoned in an Ikea car park 20 miles away. Thanks to his microchip, staff at an animal rescue centre were able to establish that his name was Barney – but the phone number no longer worked as Mr Mortimer had changed it in the nine years since the break-in. He had also moved out of his home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, over the traumatic crime, in which the family’s chihuahua Paris also suffered fatal injuries from being kicked by one of the cruel burglars. However news reports of Barney’s disappearance provided clues, and a friendly police officer was able to help track down a stunned Mr Mortimer. ‘She called me up and said “Your parrot’s been found”,’ he said today. Robert Mortimer, 56, reunited with his African grey parrot Barney nine years after he was stolen during a break-in at his home in Bradford, West Yorkshire Barney, who is now 19 years old, is in good health despite his ordeal - and is even back in his old cage which owner Mr Mortimer could not bear to throw away ‘I told her “He can’t have been” – it was nearly ten years ago. ‘I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I gave him up for dead a long time ago.’ After a trip to pick up Barney’s cage from a relative – he had never thrown it away just in case a miracle happened, and was unable to bear the idea of buying a replacement parrot – he drove across the Pennines to Hillary Harry and Friends Wildlife Rescue in Diggle, near Oldham. Reunited after almost a decade, Barney – now aged 19 – is settling into Mr Mortimer’s new home in Scholes, near Cleckheaton, and beginning to show signs of his true mischievous character. ‘He’s already started saying “Hello” and “Morning”,’ the married 56-year-old said. ‘Nine years is a long time for a bird but I think he’s beginning to recognise me. ‘He was always a brilliant mimic but he would only copy what I say, never anyone else! ‘One of his favourite tricks was to imitate the sound of the phone ringing, then when my wife went to answer it, he would start laughing at her! Owner Robert Mortimer picking up Barney the parrot in a pet carrier from staff at Hillary Harry and Friends Wildlife Rescue in Diggle, near Oldham on Wednesday Robert Mortimer was heartbroken by the theft of the talkative bird and never replaced him Barney is settling in well but remaining in his cage for the time being while he and Mr Mortimer get to know one another again ‘It’s just brilliant to have him back, it’s still sinking in that I’ve finally got my Barney again.’ Barney – himself worth around £1,000 – was snatched along with a laptop computer and gardening equipment during a break-in at the family’s former home in August 2017. At the time West Yorkshire Police said they suspected he had been bundled into a sack, with Det Con Sarah Hamer saying it was ‘likely he will be making a lot of noise wherever he is being kept’. However, months of searching drew a blank, with two suspects released without charge. The trail went cold until July 30 when Barney – who was in good health – was found hopping around the car park at Ikea in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester. He was handed into a local vets, but the phone number linked to his microchip didn’t work, so staff handed him to rescue centre owner Gemma Dumbill. ‘Lots of people got in touch claiming he was their parrot, but no-one had any proof,’ she said today. ‘All we knew from the chip was that he was called Barney and was originally from Bradford. Ikea in Ashton-under-Lyne, where Barney was found hopping around the car park on July 30 ‘I said to him “Hi Barney”, and he looked at me as if to say “How did you know my name?” ‘So I did an internet search for Barney and Bradford and I found an article about a parrot being stolen back in 2017. ‘Fortunately I know a police officer over there, and she was able to track Mr Mortimer down. ‘She rang him while I was still on the phone. He was really emotional! ‘He came over to collect him on Wednesday.  'It’s always wonderful to be able to reunite someone with a lost pet, but to have a happy ending after nine years is incredible.’ ‘I’m just so grateful to everyone involved in getting Barney back to me,’ Mr Mortimer said. ‘I’ve always been fascinated with parrots and how they’re such good mimics, so my wife Lisa bought him for me. ‘After he was taken, everyone said I should buy a replacement, but I could never bring myself to get another parrot. ‘No bird could ever have been the same as my Barney. ‘You can replace electrical goods but you can’t replace a pet.’ African greys are among the most popular pet parrot variety, living for 40 years or more in captivity and forming close bonds with their owners.