‘It’s upsetting’: Elderly woman from Sheffield lost 25 cockatiels after aviary broken into

Susan Dawson of Stannington said she had lost at least 25 cockatiel birds, which were all up for sale, during the incident.

The 71-year-old said: "Somebody broke into it on Friday night when it was very, very foggy and fireworks were going off.

"They broke into my aviary and at least 25 cockatiel birds were taken...the door to the aviary was open, so many of them have been flying around in the village.

"I've got two back but some are still flying free and they're not going to last much longer because of the weather."

She said she first realised the break-in on Saturday morning when her son, who usually mans the aviary, noticed that the main door was open.

"That morning, when it was still foggy, he went down and he said the big door on the aviary was open and somebody broke into it.

"I came out and had a look and I noticed that the door was broken into and the lights were all smashed up," she said.

Now that she has got no birds left to sell, she said: "I normally sell £55 each for cockatiel and £16 each for budgies. But the cost is a lot bigger than that. I don't sell them to make money.

"I feel like I don't want to do it anymore. This has been a horrible experience."

She added that after the incident, she is having some security cameras fitted.

Confirming the incident, South Yorkshire Police said: “It is reported that at some point overnight unknown offenders broke in to an aviary at the back of a property by breaking the lock.“When the victim discovered what had happened, around 40 of the 70 birds that had been housed in the aviary were missing.“Initial enquiries established there was no CCTV footage available and no witnesses, providing limited lines of enquiry at this time.”

The police urge anyone with information to contact them by calling 101 quoting incident number 14/165178/20.