Thieves snatch £6,000 birds in raid on garden

GOLDFINCHES worth £6,000 were stolen from a garden aviary by a masked gang.

The three men, one of whom is pictured in a CCTV image, took the 20 birds from the garden of a home in Portsmouth.

It is believed that the birds, which were worth £300 each, were stolen to order.

Footage from the family’s CCTV cameras showed the thieves clambering over the back of their shed to get into the garden at about 6.30pm. They then wrestled the door to the aviary open, taking the birds from their cages. All of the birds had been registered and have codes on their legs.

Their owner, who was in the house with her three children at the time, disturbed the thieves and they fled. The 29-year-old, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘It was really terrifying, they all had balaclavas on.

‘I was going to throw the rubbish out and that’s when I heard them. It was pitch black at the time and very scary.’

The family also owns about 200 canaries, which were untouched during the raid.

Police are investigating the incident, which happened last Thursday, but officers are yet to make any arrests.