MATCHMAKING residents of a usually sleepy Hampshire village are on the hunt for a companion for a wild peacock.

Percy, or Fred as some call him, roams Baring Close in Itchen Abbas every day looking for treats from kind-hearted locals.

He knocks on the windows with his beak and in the summer sits on the roof with neighbourhood cats.

But now villagers want to find a mate or permanent home for the bird after they have grown tired of it calling in their back gardens.

Hampshire Chronicle:

Pam Hart, 85, retired, said she regularly sits in her garden as Percy struts around.

“We want him to find a peahen,” she said.

“When we first found him I called around Avington House, Marwell, Manor Farm and a few other places to see if he belonged to anyone or if they could take him, but nobody wanted him. They said as long as there is food he won’t leave. We can’t not feed him.

“If he went we would miss him like devilry but if he was somewhere safe with a mate I could accept that.”

Along with neighbours Sue Chesters, 74, Kate and Mick Barnes, 64 and 74, and Norma Hayward, 79, the bird has daily meals of bread, peanuts and seeds and can be seen flaunting his feathers most afternoons.

Hampshire Chronicle:

Neighbours Pam Hart, Norma Hayward, Kate Barnes and Sue Chesters

“He has really brightened up our lives,” said Mrs Barnes.

“It was quite a shock when he arrived, I was just sitting in the lounge and I looked out the window and saw this beautiful peacock. Mick said it must have been a pheasant.

“He adopted us. He walks up and down the road like he owns the place. He is a magnificent bird.”

Percy first arrived in the road in July and nobody is sure how he got there.

“We should get a sign that says watch out for peacock,” they all laughed.