Peacock banned from car park after ‘comprehensively’ trashing a BMW

A peacock has been banned from a car park after damaging a BMW. Toby, the resident peacock at the Ferrers Centre, Leicestershire, is suspected to have seen his reflection in the shiny paintwork, reported BBC Radio Derby.

The car was parked near the blacksmiths shop and the bird was seen causing hundreds of pounds’ worth of damage. Though the BMW owner has been ‘sympathetic’, they have “rightly” insisted that the Staunton Harold estate bears the costs of repairing the damage.

As a result of the incident, the owner of the arts and crafts centre, John Blunt, has been forced to give the bird a more secure pen outside the car park and has put up a notice explaining his disappearance to visitors.

While the peacock is very much a feature for visitors, Blunt penned a ditty to deal with the matter:

Toby the peacock is back in his pen
He scratched up a car in frustration
And for us is the fear, if he does it again,
We may not afford compensation.

Blunt went on in the post to explain why the bird was in the doghouse, so to speak. He believes the matter may also be helped if Toby were to have more interest from a peahen. The female only recently joined the team, but is reportedly ‘playing hard to get’.