A balloonist who gave three valuable parrots a lethal heart attack by flying over their cages has been told by the court in Den Bosch to pay the owner €55,000 in compensation,

The birds literally died of fright when the hot air balloon, which was taking part in a competition in March 2017, sailed by just 50 metres from their aviary and fired up the balloon’s main burner.

The noise of the blast caused the animals, worth tens of thousands of euros, so much stress that they expired.

‘Parrots can die of acute heart failure and not because of any unexpected noise. This must have been some bang,’ zoo owner and parrot expert Richard Loomans told the Telegraaf.

The balloon company from Schijndel admitted the balloon had flown below the 300 metre limit designated for the zone but contested that the parrots had died of stress caused by the balloonist’s actions based on a vet’s testimony.

Alternative causes brought forward for the demise of the parrots were dismissed by the judge.

The owner’s claim was for €113,000 to compensate for the loss of a yellow naped amazon worth €1,250 and a €40,000 pair of hyacinth macaws, and any offspring they might have produced.