POLICE are seeking information on a 'father' and 'daughter' duo who used a fraudulent credit card to con pet shop owners at Coombefishacre out of two valuable birds.

Beryl Spier, of Castleford Pet Centre, now thinks the African grey parrot and macaw that she unsuspectingly handed over to a 'Miss Braithwaite' were stolen to order.

She is pursuing her insurance company to see if they can get their £2,000 back. But that, she says, is not their chief concern.

She said:?'We've been in business for 40 years and never had such a thing happen.

'I feel absolutely sick. I'm more worried about the birds, wondering what's happened to them and where they've gone. They're only baby birds and need proper looking after. We're a bit distraught.'

The police are treating the matter as fraud.

Investigating officer PC Dan Pike, based at Newton Abbot, said: 'It is highly likely the offenders will attempt to sell the parrots locally so we are very keen to hear any information about suspicious circumstances involving the sale of parrots.'

The macaw is ringed and microchipped which will make it easy to identify.

It now seems likely that the pair have struck before.

Bob Baker, co-owner of Fermoy's Pet shop and Newton Pet and Garden Supplies, hearing of the Spier's misfortune got in touch to say he was tricked in a similar manner before Christmas.

In both cases a 'father', claiming to be from up-country, buys the animal or animals as a gift for his daughter in Newton Abbot. Credit card details are taken over the phone and cleared. Next the 'daughter', described as being in her early 20s with shoulder-length blonde hair, arrives to collect the purchase.

Mrs Spier said: 'This gentleman rang up supposedly from Lancashire who said he was looking for hand-reared birds for his son and daughter. He said he would have the macaw for his daughter and the African grey for his son.'

That afternoon the daughter arrived in a big white van and collected the birds, together with hatch certificates, feed, accessories and cage, with the total bill of £2,080 already paid.

The young woman left behind a feeding dish but when Mrs Spier was unable to get contact from her mobile phone, she began to have suspicions.

'Then we had an email from Capital One stating that the transaction had not been authorised by the owner of the card,' said Mrs Spier.

She contacted Streamline, their credit machine supplier, which assured them that everything was all right. A week or so later it wrote to confirm that the transaction was unauthorised and the money was removed from the account.

After this experience, Castleford Pet Centre will no longer be accepting credit card payments by phone.

Mr Baker told the Advertiser that in his case he was conned into parting with a chameleon worth £600.

'Again it was a father up-country who has got the credit card and the daughter will pick it up.

'In the 31 years I've been in business I've had a few birds stolen. Sometimes it's better to say nothing and keep your ear to the ground.'

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the police on 0845 2 777 444 quoting crime reference number JN/11/447.