A mum is still pining for her beloved parrot who escaped his cage two years ago and has not been seen since.

And now Elle Mier has renewed her appeal to find Freddie, with a £2,000 reward for his safe return.

The African grey became her housemate when he was just a three-month-old chick after she bought him from a breeder.

“I had him for about five years and he was a real character and had a fabulous life,” said Elle, 43, who was living in Sea Street, Herne Bay, at the time.

Recalling the moment he fled the nest, she said: “I was gardening and he was in his outdoor enclosure.

“But he was very smart and managed to unlock the door. The next thing I knew he was flying past me and was gone.”

Elle, who works as a clinical coder for the NHS at the QEQM Hospital in Margate, says an appeal at the time prompted numerous sightings, which all turned out to be false.

“There was even a report of a parrot on the beach near the Neptune pub, and indeed there was an African grey, but sadly it wasn’t Freddie.

“It was somebody else’s who’d escaped and we managed to return him to his owner.”

Elle, who now lives in Chartham, says she has never given up hope of finding Freddie.

“He was likely to be targeted by other birds and may not have survived, of course,” she said.

“But he also might have been taken in my someone else and does have an identity tag.

“It’s just heartbreaking not knowing what has happened to him.”

Elle has put her appeal on Facebook and is asking for anyone with information about Freddie to call or message her on 07971 373849.