An owl caused a flap by taking off with the rings during a wedding - and 'refused to come back for SEVEN hours'.

Callum Russel, 29, was at an artist convention at Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds, West Yorkshire, while a wedding was taking place on July 20.

He noticed the bird - which was supposed to act as ring bearer and deliver the wedding bands to the couple - fly off.

The owl disappeared to the top of the Abbey and perched in a window sill - much to the dismay of the wedding party and their 50 guests.

Its professional handler desperately tried to lure the bird down with a piece of chicken - to no avail.

Callum - who was attending an art convention at the Abbey - captured the drama on camera.

The wedding continued with the other birds on display and the rogue owl is said to have returned at 8pm - some seven hours after it flew off at around 1pm.

Onlooker Callum, a professional artist, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, said: "It seemed like they had been ready to do the rings but the owl went away."

"He flew on top of the abbey and stayed there all night."

"I had a stand at the other side of the museum."

"It was my lunch time and I decided to mooch around and then I saw the owl at the top of the abbey which was getting a lot of attention."

"There was a pro handler trying to lure him down with a piece of chicken."

"It was a mix between devastation for them [the couple] but I was in hysterics and the handler was so professional about the whole thing."

"I left at 5pm and I spoke to the handler who deals with the birds. "

"The owl did come back with the rings in the end."