Runaway peacock Dave becomes squawk of the village

A peacock that ran away to a new village and evaded capture for several weeks has become an unlikely social media star.

Dave the peacock left his home in Claybrooke Magna, Leicestershire, early in December and an appeal to help find him led to a number of sightings four miles away in Broughton Astley.

While he was on the run, Dave endeared himself to people in Broughton Astley, who set up a dedicated Facebook group, The Dave Diary, and a TikTok account, called Only Dave’s Fans, which chronicled his adventures and various sightings.

Owner Alex Robinson finally recaptured Dave on Tuesday – but said he had “clearly” been kept well-fed while he was at large in the neighbouring village.