Russell Crow rescuer wants rook's ashes put in tattoo

The "rook star" made two guest appearances on ITV's show This Morning, causing chaos by "pooping on the sofa"

A disabled rook from Gloucestershire which made headlines in 2017 after appearing on This Morning and terrorising Holly Willoughby, has died.

Russell Crow was rescued from the road by Helen Motteram in 2016 and lived in her home as one of the family.

In 2022, Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe donated £500 to help pay for his namesake's medical treatment.

Owner Helen, said she and her husband are planning to have her beloved bird's ashes tattooed on their arms.

It was eight years ago, that the "heavily disabled" rook was found by Helen in the doorway of an Italian restaurant near her home in Cheltenham.

Mistaking the small bundle of black feathers for a baby crow, Helen decided to name him Russell Crow in honour of the Hollywood actor.

Despite having crooked feet and being unable to fly, the cheeky bird soon took over Helen's home - sleeping in her bedroom, stealing her phone chargers and hiding her jewellery.

His jealousy of Helen's husband Tristan, who he would stare at "until he moved away", also ensured he was top of the pecking order in the house.

"He saw me as his partner," said Helen.

"But he really loved Tristan and after two years, he got over his issues and would sit on him but he preferred me."

When the Gladiator star saw the story of Russell Crow online, he took to Twitter to say how "cool" it was and offered the bird "some new songs"

The "very naughty" bird rose to fame in 2017 after his namesake Russell Crowe not only tweeted his support for the disabled rook but even offered "some new songs" for the bird.

And two years ago, the Gladiator star stepped in again with a £500 donation to Helen's GoFundMe page so the bird could undergo eye surgery.

The "rook star" also made two guest appearances on ITV's show This Morning, causing chaos by "pooping on the sofa" and terrorising host Holly Willoughby.

Helen said it had helped "somewhat" change the nation's opinion about corvids [crows, rooks].

Describing Russell as "the son" they never had, Helen said she is "overcome" with grief

But last Monday, despite appearing fine, the eight-year-old Russell was put to bed by Helen for the last time.

"I went out to him the next morning and looked up in the aviary for him and he wasn't there," she said.

"I went back out and found him passed out on the floor - he had died in his sleep."

Describing Russell as "the son" they never had, Helen said she is "overcome" with grief.

But, she said, some of her "other bird friends" have learned to "talk like Russell" and are keeping his memory alive.

"I can hear him in Maverick [a blind rook] and some of the other birds can mimic him now, singing and speaking like Russell," she said.

"We've got his ashes and in a few weeks' time we want to use his ashes to have tattoos done of him - of his face or his name and a feather.

"We also want to scatter some of ashes in the place we found him."