A DISTRAUGHT woman has turned to a psychic for help in finding her missing parrot.

Monica Janowski, of Cranbrook Road, in Ilford, east London, consulted medium Dominic Zenden in desperation after failing to track down Beryl, an 18-month-old African Grey parrot, which disappeared on Wednesday, December 13.

Mrs Janowski, 52, an anthropologist, was putting out the bins in her garden when she startled the bird as it sat on her shoulder, frightening it into nearby trees, where it vanished.

She said: "My husband Kaz and I searched for her in the trees along our road for about four hours but couldn't find her.

"We are extremely worried about her because she's not very streetwise and is a tropical bird who is quite delicate and may get into difficulties if she's too cold or she doesn't get the right food."

Mrs Janowski and her family worked tirelessly, putting up posters throughout Redbridge requesting information on Beryl's whereabouts but failed to track her down, prompting them to look at other options.

She said: "I'm a bit sceptical about the whole psychic thing, but we had gone down all the normal routes and still couldn't find her, so I thought it couldn't hurt.

"A contact of ours at the Parrot Society suggested we send a picture of Beryl to this medium who got back to us very quickly to say he was confident that she was still alive and living nearby."

Mr Zenden, a professional psychic and tarot card reader, claims it is only a matter of time before Beryl is reunited with the Janowskis.

He said: "I have helped people to track down their pets for a number of years and I could feel straight away when I received the picture of Beryl that she was still alive.

"I helped some other people find their parrot in Portsmouth during the summer, and I have the same feeling about Beryl as I did about that bird."

Mrs Janowski has offered a substantial reward for any information leading directly to Beryl's return.

Anyone who sees Beryl should call John Hayward of the National Theft Register for Lost and Stolen Birds on 07802 404929.