HOLIDAYMAKERS who escaped the North East gales to find festive fun in the sun in Spain, yesterday added a new line to the 12 Days of Christmas – parrots in a palm tree.

Hundreds of green parakeets are yet again bombarding the popular sunspots on the Costa del Sol, loudly screeching morning, noon and night.

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Even Brits in an apartment block above a karaoke bar in Fuengirola were being kept awake – not by the loud music, but by a cacophony of a cavorting colony roosting in nearby palm trees.

Pensioner Margaret Ramsay, who is staying in a seafront apartment in Fuengirola said:

“The noise is terrible. I came for a bit of peace and quiet to get away from our dreadful weather and get this racket.”

Margaret, 73, from Tyne and Wear added: “These birds are everywhere now squawking in the palm trees all along the seafront.

“They’re spoiling the holidays. It’s just like our seagull problem back home.”

The brightly coloured birds were introduced to Spain in the 70s and after a few pets escaped, they soon took over the skies.

In fact, the Costa del Sol has been badly hit with an estimated 30,000 parrots in the Malaga area alone.

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