Gary Zammit, 42, started his training by running in a field with food in his pockets so the bird would follow him, and gain in strength.

He then waved his arms and made the squawking noises until the bird copied him, and eventually took off.

Now it flies at 70ft, and obediently returns when called.

Mr Zammit said: "He never showed any sign of wanting to take off.

"To encourage him to try flying I had to tempt him along with food in the hope that instinct would kick in and he would go up. But for days he just walked alongside me, or occasionally hopped a bit.

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"I ended up getting really involved and running alongside him, flapping my arms like an idiot. Eventually he began half flying at a height of around three feet, and now, he soars around the buildings until I call him back down. It is a wonderful sight."

The bird was found under a heronry in March and taken to the wildlife centre at the Gwel an Mor holiday complex in Portreath, Cornwall, where Mr Zammit is a guide. It was the only one of several chicks to survive.

At that time it was small enough to fit into the palm of Mr Zammit's hand and was very timid. Now it is now 3ft tall with a 4ft wingspan.

Mr Zammit said: "When he was a younger chick I would put him out in the garden at night but he would bang on the door until he was let in.

"Then he would run in and settle down by the clothes horse, which is where he slept every night."

The bird is now in a temporary aviary at the wildlife centre while a new enclosure is built for him.

Mr Zammit said English Nature has told him he cannot release the bird into the wild because, as it has been hand reared, it thinks it is a human, and would be unlikely therefore to survive.