Video of bird's funeral goes viral in 'proper send off'

A video of a bird’s funeral has become a surprise internet hit being viewed more than 100,000 times in just two days.

The lads behind the film said they wanted to give the male chaffinch a “proper send off” after they found its body in Swinton on Thursday.

The group, who are aged 19-24 and work together, said they had been outside in the yard at Agecroft Commerce Park when they discovered the bird.

At first they thought they might ring the RSPCA to see if they could help the creature, who they named Roger the Redbreast, but unfortunately it was already dead.

Instead of leaving it to be possibly eaten by a cat or tossed into a bin, the six pals decided to arrange a funeral for it and bury it properly.

The video has already been shared more than 1,100 times on Facebook, with over 103,000 views across the globe.

The two-and-a-half minute clip, is set to the soundtrack of Lotte Kestner’s version of Halo.

Josh Messer, who helped direct the video, said it was the result of a collection of ideas from the group and they never thought for one second it would be so popular.

He said:

Nicola Dilucia from Scotland is one of the people to share the post, she wrote:

Steven Mclachlan wrote: