A PARROT sanctuary owner is appealing for toys to help her birds beat their boredom.

Julie Piercy, who runs Pampered Parrots, at Slingsby, near Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, wants to provide more brightly-coloured and durable toys to keep her "guests" entertained.

"We've got quite a few parrots now and they need a lot of attention - they also love to play," she said.

"I've started giving them pre-school toys to play with and they love it.

"They really like activity centres and anything babies would find interesting, such as rattles.

"Some of my birds can be quite destructive because their beaks are so hard, so the toys have to be quite durable."

Anyone who has second-hand toys they want to donate can contact Julie on (01653) 628439.