An ex-gangster has got into a row with his neighbours after his massive pet peacock escaped from his garden.
David Courtney, 63, was given the pesky peacock as a gift but it has been running riot near his south London home.
The former member of the ‘torture gang’ had to apologise after his peacock flew out of its 12-foot enclosure after he forgot to put a roof on it.
Mr Courtney was part of the Richardson gang based in south London, where their alleged specialities included pulling teeth out using pliers, cutting off toes using bolt cutters, and nailing victims to floors using 6-inch nails.
He told the Evening Standard he didn’t know the birds could fly, and neighbours have now complained after the purple-plumed pest has been waking them up with mating calls as early as 4am.
His peafowl has been spotted on top of people’s roofs, cars, gardens and hiding up trees after it flew the nest last month.
He said: ‘I know I’ll probably sound like a bit of a d***head but I didn’t know they could fly. I thought it was like a chicken or something.
‘I had him in [the enclosure] for about five minutes and then he flew off, I thought ‘You b*****d’.’
Mr Courtney, who has starred in gangster flicks ‘The Dead Sleep Easy’ and ‘Clubbing To Death’ and claims to have been the model for Vinnie Jones’s role in ‘Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels,’ has now offered a reward for its safe return.
He sees it in the area twice a day but the peacock constantly dodges him and the fishermen’s keep net he has bought to try and catch him.
Mr Courtney added: ‘He was stunning but it seems like he would rather live 20 doors up.
‘He keeps jumping from garden to garden dodging all the foxes. All my neighbours are feeding him and he seems quite happy at the moment.
‘He gets bigger and bigger every time I see him. Some people don’t want me to catch him it brightens up the place.
‘I’ve got a giant fisherman’s keep net but he’s like a footballer he keeps swerving me.
‘He can handle himself. He’s Dave Courtney’s peacock after all.
‘We are trying our hardest to catch it. The man who gave it to me said ‘All you got to do it is feed it, and look after it and it will never fly away’.’
He told his neighbours: ‘I’m sorry for the inconvenience when I do actually catch him I will be giving him to a sanctuary.
‘But I have been very touched by how everyone has looked after him.’
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