Bird-lover Cyril Randle could not believe his eyes when he spotted this brightly-coloured parakeet in his back garden in the Black Country.

Mr Randle, aged 80, has nicknamed the exotic bird Flash Harry after it became a regular visitor to his home in Walsall and managed to catch the bird on camera.

He said: “It is incredible. He looks so different to the other birds but fits in with them perfectly. The other day he couldn’t get the seed out of the pot I had left out but some smaller birds scattered it out and didn’t mind he was pecking away alongside them.

“He is a gorgeous little soul. I managed to take some photographs while he was preening himself. He whistles to me and he’s not the least bit scared.”

The retired lecturer, said his wife Norma, also 80, coined the name Flash Harry. He said: “I would have chosen something less showy myself.”

Exotic parakeets are becoming increasingly common with several reports of the emerald green parrot-like birds nesting in trees and feeding from bird tables.

They are already common in parts of London, where there are estimated to be around 30,000 in the wild but it now appears they are moving north. It is thought the parakeets have survived in the UK thanks to bird enthusiasts leaving out food for them.

Chris Edwards from the RSPB’s Sandwell Valley nature reserve said: “We know there are around three or four parakeets nesting in the area. People are starting to spot them in their back gardens.”

Mr Randle’s discovery came after Sandwell Valley volunteer Colin Sedgwick photographed some of the birds outside the nature reserve. He said: “I managed to get quite a few photographs and they do seem to be on the increase in the area, and are definitely dotted all over the Black Country.”