A DEVASTATED birdkeeper is considering packing in after his prized cockatiels were stolen in a nightime raid.
Frank Cocking has been left with just six of the birds after his garden aviary was broken into on Sunday night and 22 cockatiels taken.
The 69-year-old was woken at 7.15am by a neighbour who had spotted some of the birds flying out of the aviary at his Carlton Road home in Barnsley.
When Frank went to have a closer look his heart sank - the wire meshing on a flight pen attached to the aviary had been ripped off and only a half dozen of his cherished birds remained.
A police spokeswoman said the incident was reported to police at about 8am on Monday and anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101 or email enquiries@southyorks.pnn.police.uk.
Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle
