Appeal launched as Lincolnshire Wildlife Park is forced to close due to flooding

An aerial view of the flooding at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park.

On a sad weekend in which the park at Friskney announced the drowning of a much-loved parrot, a statement reads: "Sorry to all the dads this Father's Day, if you were planning a visit

"It is with heavy hearts that we must remain closed this weekend to try and clear the flooding.

"Our paths are underwater and our lake overflown, so we just cannot allow any public onsite for safety reasons.

The parrot pictured right had been at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park for 20 years but has sadly drowned.

"Please accept our apologies and we will try to get back up and running as soon as we possibly can."

As well as publishing pictures of the flooded park, owners paid tribute to the female parrot that had been at the zoo for 20 years...

"Sadly our first victim of the bad rain," said the post on the wildlife park's Facebook page. "She thought it best to hide in her box overnight but drowned.

"This girl ( one with the yellow head) has been with me for over 20 years and, as a wild bird, became my mate.

"Gutted is the only word to explain it."

An appeal for £2,000 to help the wildlife park has been launched on the JustGiving crowdfunding site and has already raised more than £1,500.

Susie Edlon who launched the appeal said: "After the extraordinarily heavy rainfall of June 2019 I've watched my partner and his colleagues (including the owner) go above and beyond in extreme weather to ensure the safety of 1000's of animals in their care.

"They've been soaked to skin, wrung out their socks despite wearing waterproofs and wellies and in 1 case stripped to their pants to redirect water pouring in from a well. They've done this with smiles on their faces and without complaint for several days now.

"The water flow is under control but the park remains closed until the safety and enjoyment of visitors can be assured once more.

"This clean up is not only time consuming and hard work but also extremely costly. The full cost is not known as yet until the remaining water subsides and a full assessment can be made but it will definitely run into the £1000's to repair the damage alone."

To make a donation visit JustGiving here