THESE colourful canaries have found a comfortable perch after being dumped on the doorstep of a Hampshire charity shop.

When Sue Hooper made an appeal for donation for the Cancer Research UK shop she manages in Romsey, these two were not what she had in mind.

Shivering and distressed, the pair of canaries had been abandoned in a filthy cage on Friday morning, with £20 and a note asking the shop’s staff to take care of the birds.

Sue and her friend Martin Drake quickly brought the cage inside to try to warm up the orange and yellow canaries.

Knowing how much his parents Julie and Kevin loved animals, already owning two cats and some tropic fish, Martin called them asking to take pity on the homeless birds and they could not resist.

Within a few hours they were at the Drake’s home in Romsey, enjoying a brand new cage and new names – Tango, for the orange one, and Cash.

Martin, 28, who donated the £20 to the charity shop, said: “If Sue had not got to the shop when she did those birds would have died. They were shaking so badly and when I put my hand into the cage to feed them they were petrified.

“I’m shocked that somebody could even think about dumping these birds like that.

“I’m just glad that the shop got a £20 donation out of it and that the birds now have a home with people who actually care about them.” Julie, 50, who cares for her disabled husband, added: “Martin just called to ask if we fancied doing a bit of adopting and we immediately said yes.

“They are already part of the family, making themselves feel at home.”