Parrot owner was handed £2,000 after bird was killed by noise from low-flying RAF jet

Parrot: The Ministry of Defence paid out more than £2,000 after the exotic bird died in AyrshireA parrot owner was handed thousands of pounds in compensation - after his pet was killed by a low-flying RAF jet.

Military chiefs paid more than £2,000 after the exotic bird died when a Hercules soared over a house in Ayrshire.

Ministry of Defence officials have revealed that in the last three years they have paid out a total of £1.4 million in more than 200 claims across the UK for low-flying aircraft damage.

The payouts included £2,200 for the dead parrot and nearly £300 to two therapy groups, disturbed by the roar of fighter planes flying overhead.

Another £900 was claimed for damage to a child’s trampoline in Lancashire.

Last night taxpayers’ watchdogs blasted the huge bill.

Robert Oxley, of Taxpayer Scotland, said: 'There is a danger that the MoD gets used to paying out compensation for these flights regardless of whether it is justified or not.

'Some payouts appear to be seriously stretching the boundaries of what is reasonable.'

The highest amounts claimed for compensation were for personal injury.

But huge sums were also paid out for damage to livestock, buildings and crops.

In the last year, a helicopter injured cattle and broke a fence in Dumfries and Galloway, leading to a £5,800 claim.

Meanwhile a Tornado aircraft flying over Midlothian caused personal injury and sparked another claim, this time for £4,000.

Defence chiefs have also paid out thousands to farmers who claimed the roar from low-flying jets had an impact on their chickens’ egg-laying abilities.

Mr Oxley said: 'Defence chiefs need to do more to ensure incidents that lead to pay-outs are minimised while ensuring pilots still get vital low altitude experience they will need in combat zones.

'The status quo is doing no one any favours and cannot be considered a solution in the long run.'

The parrot death follows a similar incident in which a low-flying plane caused a startled parrot to fall off its perch and break both legs.

Its owner sued the MoD and received compensation to cover vets bills including the cost of two splints.

A spokesman for the MoD said an aircraft was 'low-flying' if it was less than 2,000ft above ground, 500ft in the case of helicopters.

Most low-flying aircraft in the UK are training for operations in war zones, he said.

Compensation payments included claimants’ legal fees and NHS charges in personal injury claims.

He responded: 'The MoD will authorise the payment of reasonable ex-gratia compensation where a link can be established between MoD military low flying activity and any subsequent loss or injury sustained by a claimant.

'We are very aware of the risks of military flying, and the safety of those on the ground, as well as our aircrew, is one of our highest priorities.'

Ruth Clowes, a spokesman for the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) said practitioners running therapy sessions had to make sure clients received a 'good quality of care' under its rules.

And farmers have claimed more than £1million for injury or loss of livestock.

Jets and copters flying at low altitudes have caused death and injury among cattle, lambs, horses and dogs in the past three years.

Some cows have been spooked so badly, they stopped producing milk and chickens have quit laying eggs.

Stampeding cows have burst into gardens - putting the public at risk and racking up repair bills of thousands.

Tim Price, a spokesman for rural insurer NFU Mutual, said: 'We regularly deal with claims from farmers whose livestock have been spooked by planes.

'It causes deaths and injuries to livestock, there’s a risk to farmers and members of the public who could themselves be injured by stampeding animals.'