A great-grandfather who had 24 of his pigeons stolen has had them returned – along with five extra birds.
George Howie, 72, was left distraught when he woke up to find all of his prize racers had vanished from their loft in his back garden near the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen.
However, two nights later, the veteran pigeon fancier, who has been racing birds for 65 years, received a call from police in Elgin to tell him all of his feathered friends had been found safe and sound.
And when officers recovered the birds, they also found five extra pigeons, which have been put in Mr Howie’s care until their owners are traced.
The relieved OAP said he was thrilled to have his beloved birds back where they belong.
He said: “The police asked me to put an exact value on them, but I couldn’t really.
“I estimated about £1,000 altogether – not to mention all the time and money spent on feeding, breeding and training them all these years.
“They also brought back five other ones that are sat in the shed right now. The police asked me to look after them until the RSPB comes up to collect them.”
Mr Howie, who plays lead guitar and sings in the Aberdeen band Snowy and Goldrush, said whoever stole the birds had rendered them ineligible for races by cutting off the rings placed around their ankles at birth.
“I was a bit disappointed when I found that the rings were cut off,” he said.
“I haven’t got a clue why anybody would keep pigeons without rings, because once you cut the rings off the birds are useless – you’ve got to put them on when they’re babies and that’s the rings on them for life, you can’t replace them.
“I’m glad to have them back, but I’ll have to retire them from racing, I’ll have to depend on this year’s young birds to race next year.
“The baby ones won’t be racing until next June or July, so it’ll be a little bit of a break but I’m glad I’ll still be able to keep up with my hobby.”
A man appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court last week and denied stealing the birds. He is due to go on trial later this year.