Shropshire family's pet is no ordinary bird

For baby bird Sasha it is a case of "owl always love you" as the bundle of fluff has become devoted to Shropshire sisters who helped to raise her.

When the young European eagle owl's parents did not seem to be coping with the job of raising her and their other chick died, big-hearted Jade Thomas, 11 and her sister Amber, 10, decided to take little Sasha under their wings and treat her as a member of their family.

And now she runs across the room to them to be fed and sits on their hands as she tries to master the art of perching.

The girls' grandfather Kim Downer said it was the first time his pet owls had hatched chicks and he was not sure why they had not thrived without help.

He said Jade and Amber had never raised a baby owl before but they had done so well it was hoped Sasha would start to fly in the next two weeks.

"The parent birds had two babies and one died so we thought we'd feed the other by hand to make sure it didn't come to any harm and survived," he said.

"It is now nine weeks old.

"Jade and Amber raised it between them, they had to make sure it was kept clean and had food and mice or rats to eat. It's now really tame and will walk from one end of the room to the other to be fed."

The girls, who are from Petton, near Wem, are hoping to teach Sasha to fly to and from a gloved hand.

By Emma Kasprzak