A profoundly deaf woman has told of her joy at being able to hear a treasured family heirloom for the first time.

Fenella Haffenden, of Tavistock, appeared on BBC One’s The Repair Shop on Wednesday, April 8, to hear the singing of a mechanical moving bird in a golden cage, treasured in her family, for the first time in her life.

As a child she and her family visited her granny in Jersey who used to wind up the singing model bird prior to dinner to entertain the children.

Fenella, born deaf, said: “Everyone else could hear the bird and I loved watching it shake its tail and move its head, but I couldn’t hear it tweet. I always wondered what the bird sounded like.

“I used to pretend to join in the others enjoying the singing, so I wouldn’t be teased. But, now, thanks to the Repair Shop team I don’t have to pretend.

“They have done an amazing job. It’s absolutely beautiful and it’s so lovely to hear it singing. It’s literally music to my ears.”

Over the years, the shabby, lacklustre and almost mute bird went missing and had fallen into disrepair. So Fenella, who works for Mount Kelly College IT, could not hear it sing, even though she has much improved hearing, thanks to advanced cochlear implants.

When found again in a relative’s loft The Repair Shop was contacted and they jumped on the moving story. The TV team restored the bird by repairing its intricate mechanism, brushing its feathers with a toothbrush and re-gilding the cage.

Fenella said: “The bird was very forlorn, but when the Repair Shop handed it over to me at their studio, I was amazed. They’d worked their magic and transformed it to its original best. They have given me back a missing part of my childhood, an important part of a jigsaw of my life. I didn’t think it would sound so lovely.

“I couldn’t find the words to tell them adequately how much it meant to me. It was a very emotional moment for me and the team.”

She said even the birds in her partner’s garden turned up the volume when they heard her model version sing: “It was as if they were singing in response. It was a magical moment and very moving.”

Fenella thanked Repair Shop team restorers Will Kirk (furniture) and Dave Burville (mechanical) for their ‘loving’ work.

Fenella, 62, a mother of three, has overcome bullying and prejudice for being deaf when younger. She also had to cope with with the sudden death death of her husband, killed by a freak lightning bolt out of a cloudless sky, leaving her with three young children to bring up alone.

She learned to speak as a child with the help of a speech therapist, rather than using sign language.

Fenella said: “Anyone born deaf or who becomes deaf and their parents can be optimistic and can achieve anything. Never give up just because of deafness. I’ve learned anything is possible.”