* Click here to sign up to free news and sport email alerts from Rothwell Today.

The winged creatures are on key rings, mugs, plates, tapestries, paperweights, cards and tea towels, their beady eyes peeping out from every corner.

* Click here for latest news in Rothwell, Oulton & Woodlesford.

They're made from wood, glass, pottery, brass, macramé – there's even a pair of owl-shaped knickers.

* Click here to make Rothwell Today your friend on Facebook.

Liz's passion for the birds stems back to when she first started dating
Peter, now her husband, around 10 years ago, and she spotted a real owl for the first time.

"It was perched on a post - somewhere out Huddersfield way.

"I've just liked them ever since – especially barn owls."

The 54-year-old added: "It's a sentimental thing really.

"It was one of the first outings when we were first getting together."

Liz owns a stuffed owl but likes to see them in the feathery flesh at country fairs.

She would love to own a real barn owl and has the next best thing – adopted barn owl Cobweb at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary.

She swoops and buys an owl trinket whenever and wherever she spots them and friends and family know she'll think it's a real hoot to get owl-related gifts for birthdays and Christmas.

Fortunately husband Peter, 61, doesn't mind as he's also a collector – but his miniature trucks are confined to glass cabinets in the spare bedroom whereas Liz's feathered friends are, by her own admission, nesting in every nook and cranny.

She said: "They're more or less all over the house – I haven't got one specific place for them - there's not enough room."

While they're all priceless to Liz, she said most are just "cheep" and cheerful although she wouldn't like to think how much she has spent on them over the years.

And although she only started collecting them after meeting Peter, she was already a fan of Swarovski crystal models and had snapped up around 20 of them before transferring her affections to owls.

Owls are very much in fashion and can be found on everything from T-shirts and shoes to jewellery, with vintage pendants particularly sought-after.

And the owl has long been a symbol of Leeds, appearing on the city's coat of arms.

When the Royal Charter was granted to the town in 1626 the new Corporation adopted the arms.

The fleece was symbolic of the town's staple trade and the owl supporters were a compliment to the first Alderman, Sir John Savile, whose arms contained three owls argent.