So when a pensioner's racing pigeon strayed a long way from its owner near Manchester, there was no doubt it would find a new home in the village.

Secretary of Staithes Homing Society, Mick Crooks, is now caring for the bird in his own pigeon loft.

He said: "What I would normally do with a stray is take it as near to its home as possible and then liberate it to make its own way back to where it belongs.

"But on this occasion, Mr Kirby, its owner, lives near Manchester so it is too far.

"We also have a pigeon return system but it costs £30 to send a bird on that so we try to repatriate them ourselves as far as possible. Mr Kirby is a pensioner and because of the cost of carriage for it he's quite happy for me to keep it here.

"We all lose birds from time to time because they stray or they're killed hitting a wire or a hawk gets them – that's the worst thing.

"Racing pigeons can fly vast distances but it's costly to prepare them for long distance racing.

"It's exactly like dealing with a race horse – only a race horse with wings."