This bow-tie-wearing duck has raised thousands for charity

By Ashley Pemberton via SWNS

A bow-tie wearing duck that raised thousands for charity with its fun-filled antics is still turning heads in semi-retirement - and has struck up an adorable bond with a puppy.

Star, an Indian Runner Duck, has wowed fans with his trademark bow-tie and beer-supping and is a regular at his local church with owners Barrie and Sue Hayman.

Once dubbed "Britain's booziest duck," Star became a local celebrity in Devon due to his distinguishable attire and was used as a fundraising tool for worthy causes.

He was a regular at charity functions and football matches and once hit the headlines after a boozed-up altercation with the family's pet border collie, Drake.

Despite moving 400 miles away to Northumberland and appearing less frequently in public, the adorable avian still wows passers-by when he is spotted out and about.

A video of Star sitting in the car in his trademark bow-tie while owner Barrie popped to the shops went viral and attracted more fans in his new hometown of Bywell.

A passer-by filmed him sitting in the motor wearing his bow-tie as he had managed to set the alarm off.

Barrie, 74, and wife Sue, 47, say the nine-year-old "diva" loves attention, but insist he is just as happy at home playing with their 18-m0nth-old [ at time of writing] Cockapoo/pug cross Florence.

"Barrie needed to get some last-minute shopping just before the most recent lockdown," Sue said.

"Naturally Star went with him. Barrie didn’t take him into the shop with him but left him in the car.

"We can only assume that Star had noticed that he was getting some attention and may well have set off the car alarm by accident but more than likely set this off to get more.

"He will quite often pose for the cameras. He is a real diva duck.

"Him and Barrie are inseparable. He is very much part of the family. He doesn't think he's a duck, he hasn't been brought up as duck."

During lockdown, the bond between Star and Florence has grown to the point where the pair are now inseparable and even take naps together on the couch.

Adorable photos show them snoozing together on the couple's carpet and sofa.

Sue believes Star might think he is a dog because of how he has been raised and the delightful duo have even been caught play fighting.

"If he doesn’t think he is human then he probably thinks he is a dog. We had three dogs when Star first hatched," she said.

"We now only have the one, an 18-month-old puppy called Florence, and they are best friends. They play together and hang out together very happily.

"They are like two kids, they're like brother and sister.

"Star will go and give her some aggro and they will play fight and then they'll hang out together like good friends."

Barrie, a former scuba diving instructor in Australia, plucked Star from the incubator in 2011 when he was just days old.

He christened him Star because of his obvious character even as a young duckling.

As a chick, Barrie walked round with Star in his top pocket as he tended to animals on his farm.

As he grew up, Star developed a taste for real ale and would often go down the local with his owner for a few pints.

The couple used his "star power" to positive effect as he featured as a mascot for a children's hospice to raise much-needed funds.

Sue has even wrote a book about Star, such was the level of interest in him.

"Barrie has always felt that Star was a gift and was brought here to make people smile," she said.

"We are so pleased that they can still do that, especially during these strange times we are currently living in.

"Star is in semi-retirement now. He still loves the attention and human contact but no longer goes on the streets. However, he loves going out in the car."

Barrie, who takes Star with him when he tends to a local graveyard, said: "When he hatched, I picked him up and gave him a kiss to welcome him into the world and put him under the lamp with the others to keep warm.

"But all hell broke loose, he didn't want to go there and I said 'you're a star, you are' and it just stuck.

"He's nine now, we don't know how long they live or how long we have left with him so we are just enjoying what time we have with him."