ANGELA Thorn was as sick as a parrot when Smoky, her boyfriend's African Grey, flew away as she answered a knock on the door of her home.

She was so distressed that Graham Hope eventually proposed to her.

She said: "He told me he would rather lose the parrot than lose me.

"He asked me to marry him and I accepted.''

Graham, who lives in Bolton and Angela, of Basnett Street, Burnley, met six months ago.

And the couple now have double cause for celebration as the missing bird has been returned.

Angela said: "I answered a knock on the door and Smoky just flew out and headed over Sanderson Ford garage even though his wings had been clipped.''

She reported the loss to Burnley Animal Rescue and to the police but Smoky was found by a security guard at Sanderson Ford who took him to an aviary in Padiham.

When he saw a "flier'' Angela had put up in the area asking for information about the lost parrot, he told her where Smoky was and in a short time the three were reunited.

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