How the talkative parrot let the cat out of the bag

London: There were, to coin a phrase, three of them in the relationship plus a parrot called Ziggy. For Chris Taylor, however, the only cloud on his horizon was that his girlfriend did not share his fondness for the eight-year-old African grey he had bought as a chick.

But if relations between Suzy Collins and Ziggy were always on the cool side, it seems fair to say that now they must be deep frozen after the parrot's mimicry revealed the existence of Collins's secret lover, known only as Gary.

At first, 30-year-old Taylor was amused when Ziggy started screeching "Hiya, Gary" everytime it heard Collins's mobile phone ring. He even saw the funny side when the parrot began making kissing noises when the same name was mentioned on television or radio.

But the truth finally dawned as the couple snuggled alongside each other on the sofa and Ziggy blurted out, "I love you, Gary" in her voice.

Collins, 25, a call centre worker, broke down in tears and confessed to having a four-month fling with a former colleague.

Her confession not only ended their two-year relationship but also led Taylor to parting with his pet because it kept repeating the offending name.

He said: "I wasn't sorry to see the back of Suzy after what she did but it really broke my heart to let Ziggy go. It was torture hearing him repeat that name over and over again.

"It feels like someone's got it in for me because I've lost my girlfriend and my best mate at the same time.