Dursley residents believe a raven, missing from the Tower of London and feared dead, could actually be on holiday in their town.

Raven Merlina (on the right of the picture) has not been seen at the Tower for several weeks, which coincides with the arrival of a raven in Dursley (pictured on the left).

Although ravens traditionally have their wings clipped, current Ravenmaster Christopher Skaife has reduced this practice and Merlina regularly spent time outside the Tower walls.

If she is now in Dursley however, her distinctive pink band appears to have gone missing.

Keen birdwatcher John Murdoch, 85, said it was the first time he had ever seen a raven when he spotted it outside Gravity fish and chip shop on Parsonage Street on Saturday.

"I was in the town and there was this raven stood on a bench. It was absolutely huge.

"I do a lot of birdwatching and I have never seen a raven before. It was absolutely massive.

"A lot of people were taking photographs.

"There must have been 15 people all standing around and it never flew away. It just stood there.

"I thought it might be the one from the tower I just put two and two together. I thought it was quite unusual round here.

"It was probably just coincidental.

A number of other people have reported sightings of the bird on the Dursley Natters Facebook page.

Legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, both the Tower and the Kingdom will fall.

However, seven ravens still remain, one more than the six required by royal decree.

In a statement, the Tower of London said: “Our much-loved raven Merlina has not been seen at the Tower for several weeks, and her continued absence indicates to us that she may have sadly passed away.

“Though it isn’t unusual for our ravens to roam outside the walls, free-spirited Merlina has previously always returned to the Tower and to the Ravenmaster and his team, with whom she shared a wonderfully close bond.

“Since joining us in 2007, Merlina was our undisputed ruler of the roost, queen of the Tower Ravens.

“She will be greatly missed by her fellow ravens, the Ravenmaster, and all of us in the Tower community.”

So what do you think. Could Merlina really be in Dursley or are we stark raven mad?