14273/01FARMER John Chandler and his family have adopted an unusual pet. A sparrow has become a fully fledged member of the family.

The chirpy bird has been nicknamed Cheepy Cheepy and loves to sit on Mr Chandler's shoulder.

The bird was brought into the family's home in Potterne as a chick when Mr Chandler, 50, and his daughter Virginia, 13, found it abandoned.

Mr Chandler, who has a dairy farm, said: "We found the sparrow on the floor of one of our calf sheds.

"We think it had been thrown out of the nest by its mother because its left leg was slightly deformed. Maybe the mother thought her chick would be disabled and wouldn't make it and thought it best to get rid of it.

"We could have despatched it but we picked it up and put it in a little cage. It was a tiny little thing and was blind and bald."

The family, including Mr Chandler's brother Terry, helped to feed the bird on chicken pieces mashed up with water.

Mr Chandler said: "The bird was hungry all the time and wasn't scared of humans.

"I'm surprised it survived but it's absolutely fine. "

Even more surprising was just how tame the sparrow was.

It quickly developed a penchant for sitting on people's shoulders.

Mr Chandler said: "When we're in the house the bird loves to sit on our shoulders.

"We have to be careful though because we have two cats and one dog, and when they're around we make sure the bird is in the cage.

"It's a lovely little bird and is mischievous. It will fly on to your shoulder and say cheepy cheep.

"Hens and chickens can be very tame but it's quite difficult to get a wild bird tame."