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A man has cut off his ears in a bid to look more like his pet parrot - and is now seeking a surgeon to turn his nose into a beak.

Ted Richards, 56, is obsessed by pets Ellie, Teaka, Timneh, Jake and Bubi, and has his face and eyeballs tattooed to pay tribute to them.

The eccentric animal lover, who has 110 tattoos, 50 piercings and a split tongue, had his lobes removed by a surgeon in a six hour operation.

He has given the severed ears to a friend he said would "appreciate them" by preserving them in resin.

Mr Richards said he was delighted with his new look.

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He said: "I think it looks really great. I love it. It's the best thing that has happened to me.

"I am so happy it's unreal, I can't stop looking in the mirror.

"I've done it because I want to look like my parrots as much as possible.

"I've had my hair long for so many years my ears have been covered up.

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"I have to admit I did used to get teased at school about my ears because they were big, but that not the reason I've had it done.

"The kids are running up to me and asking to see gory photos - they just love it.

"They are just so fascinated. I was really surprised - I thought they were more likely to run away."

Mr Richards, a retired shoe factory worker, got his first tattoo in 1976 and has since built up a collection covering almost his entire body.

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He also has a peace sign branded on his left shoulder with a 750 degrees centigrade hot iron and two magnets implanted in his hands.

He shares his home in Hartcliffe, Bristol with his four parrots, as well as South American green iguana Iggy, and pitbull terrier Candy.

He scours the internet looking for new procedures and says his facial transformation is a tribute to his "babies" - Ellie, a green winged macaw, and Teaka, a harlequin macaw.

Mr Richards is keeping tight-lipped about who carried out the six hour operation, but insists he is "happier than ever," and has even now got himself a girlfriend, Suzannah, 31.

Since undergoing the operation he says the only issue he has is keeping his glasses in place - so he has had two small metal pins added to the side of his head.

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He added: "I went to the supermarket the other day and when I went in I said 'blimey it's so windy out there it blew my ears off and everybody had a chuckle.

"There's no doubt that when they made me they broke the mould.

"But seriously, I love the fact that I'm unique and I have always wanted to be different."

He added there was only one other person who had had the operation before, which made it incredibly risky.

He said: '"They are in America and transgender, and they want to look like a lizard.



"But they had one done first and then the other later, but I had both done at the same time.

(Image: SWNS)

(Image: SWNS)

(Image: SWNS)

"They've also had their nose done to look like a beak. I like that and I am seriously considering doing that."The surgeon who did my ears has years of medical experience, and he would be able to do it, no problem."The body modification fan said he was fully aware of the risks, but the danger of death from infection would not stop him.He added: "I could have died from a massive infection or something. It's a major job."It came so close to my skull, as when you look at me full on you can't see nothing. And the nerve endings and blood vessels too. Everything is risky, but I wasn't worried one bit."If there had been any major complications it was down to me [not the surgeon]. But I'm lucky as I heal so quickly."Mr Richards no longer speaks to his family and has just two friends.He said: "The parrots love it. And I met someone, Suzannah, who I'm moving in with in Brighton."She loves it as she is into body modification as well. She is going to get a lot more done."We're going to go crazy. I might get 16 transdermals put into my head to look like a mohican, or something like that, but it will definitely be another big mod."Suzannah has got something I have never had the chance of having - children. Because my ex didn't want any so I had a vasectomy. She has a 10-year-old and a two-year-old."

The practice of removing someone's ears was historically done as an act of physical punishment in England called 'cropping.'

Marc Pacifico, a consultant plastic surgeon and member of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, slammed the surgery.

He said: "I am absolutely horrified to learn that someone has voluntarily put themselves forward for this to be done and possibly more so that he found somebody to actually carry it out.

"The sad truth of life though is that if you want something badly enough you will eventually find someone willing to do it.

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"I would like to think whoever did this is not medically qualified because that would call into judgement their ethics and morals.

"As an accredited plastic surgeon you have to have a great sense of moral and ethical responsibility.

"I can only assume the ethical code and moral compass of whoever did this does not."

But Mr Richards hit out at critics, saying nothing would have prevented him from getting the surgery done.

He said: "The only people who show negativity are people who want it done or other artists who I didn't go to.



"I know I'm going to get the white coat people coming round saying its completely illegal. They say we can't do what we want to do to make us look like we want to.

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"But my argument is what is stopping me going abroad and having cosmetic surgery done by an iffy surgeon, coming back here, having complications and getting the NHS to sort them out free of charge?"

Mr Richards is not the first person to undergo such extreme bodily modification.

Last year Diablo Delenfer, who has spent £10,000 on procedures to become 'The Devil Man', featured on Channel 5's 200 Nips & Tucks And I Want More! documentary. He has a forked tongue, tattooed eyeballs, and Teflon implants in his forehead to imitate horns.

While earlier this year, Mirror Online reported on Venezuelan Henry Damon who now goes by the name Red Skull after he had the end of his nose surgically removed to look like Captain America’s nemesis.