£2,000 reward offered after Michael Jackson-singing parrot goes missing

Mitoo, the Arif family's African grey parrot, flew away from their home, in Hillside, off Chorley New Road, at about 10am on Wednesday.

Mohammad Arif, who lives with his wife Khanam, had let the parrot outside to enjoy the nice weather.

However, the parrot flew onto their next-door neighbour's roof, and Mr Arif, aged 65, spent about two hours trying to retrieve the parrot, only for it to fly away.

An award of £1,000 was initially offered, which has since been doubled to £2,000 in the hope that it will encourage someone to find Mitoo.

The much loved pet, said to have a vocabulary of more than 100 words, has been in the family home for more than two years, and is known to sing Michael Jackson's classic track Billie Jean, as well as wish the family "good morning" and say "I love you".

Mr Arif's son Khalid, who lives in Dubai and works in marketing, has launched a campaign to try and track Mitoo down.

He said: "I am sure he is enjoying all of this, because he is a bit of a cheeky one.

"Parrots tend to get on best with one person, and he really gets on with my mum.

"Whenever I am back he flies over and tries to attack me."

Mitoo is mostly grey, with bright red tail feathers and a white face, and in size she is somewhere between a dove and a crow.

Khalid said vets have told him Mitoo can only last for about three days without food, and as he currently doesn't know how to forage, he is appealing for anyone to report any sightings.

He said: "If anyone sees him, we would ask them to call straightaway. I would not expect anyone to approach him if they are worried, but he is not violent.

"At first we thought he had flown towards Lostock, but we think he did a u-turn and is somewhere in Heaton."

Anyone who sees the parrot can call 07796 346786.

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