Shopper donkeys ease burden on villagers

By Alex Bushill
BBC News

Chester is one of the two donkeys being used to help villagers

Chester and Teddy have the hopes of an entire village resting on their hairy shoulders.

But they seem blissfully unaware of the pressure - chomping away as they are on grass in their paddock.

They've been brought in for one single purpose: donkey work. To haul groceries up and down a hill, to be precise.

The good people of Chalford, Gloucestershire, are fed up. Their remote village is perched precariously on top of a range of steep hills.

Parts of Chalford, near Stroud, are so steep that residents cannot drive their cars up the narrow paths to their front doors.

So they're tired of having to drag their shopping bags up the hill instead.

They hope four legs will work where four wheels fail.

It may be an eccentric idea but Anna Usborne - who's brought the donkeys to the village - says it has nothing to do with laziness: "Some residents have resorted to ordering their shopping to be delivered from supermarkets but we don't want their vans turning up in our village.

"We would much rather get our stuff up with the help of a donkey. I think donkeys should replace all the cars in the village."

We are very excited to have them with us - they are lovely, gentle animals Anna Usborne

She's currently using halters and panniers to train her two donkeys. It's arduous work and may be taking longer than she hoped.

As I stood chatting to Anna about just how suitable Chester and Teddy are for the task ahead - Teddy decided to bite my bum.

It can't have been particularly tasty as moments later he was dragging me through the field to a nearby clump of nettles.

He may just be eager to be put to work - but I asked Anna just how disciplined her donkeys really were?

"It could take six weeks or six months to train them. It all depends on how well they behave.

"We are very excited to have them with us. They are lovely, gentle animals."

Grocery shop base

I suppose it was more a nibble than a bite, but either way they seem a long way from the obedient pack animal she wants.

Anna does though have full support of the village - and thanks to donations she was able to buy Teddy from a beach donkey dealer in South Wales while Chester arrived from Cotswold Farm Park.

So how will it work? Simple apparently: the donkeys will be based at the local grocers - at the bottom of the hill.

They'll then be available to haul deliveries where they're needed. But she's still to decide whether to charge a fee, open a membership scheme or simply cover her costs by asking for more donations.

However it works, her beasts of burden will not be an entirely new sight as they climb the hills around Chalford.

Up until the 1950s donkeys could be seen hauling wood, coal and provisions around the village. And of course there is another advantage that the mule has over the motor car.

Chalford's four legged friends are eco-friendly - apart from perhaps a few methane emissions that Teddy seemed particularly prone to.