BLACKPOOL'S donkeys are the best in Britain - and that's official!

More than 150 animals passed their annual 'MOT' with flying colours when inspectors trotted them through their paces.

The four-legged children's favourites - a feature of the resort's Promenade for decades - now sport a tattoo on one hoof to make it easier to keep track of their fitness factor.

Welfare experts on a whistle stop tour of Britain's seaside resorts gave Blackpool top marks for its seafront herd which got a clean bill of health in time for the summer season.

As droves of donkeys queued up to pass an annual council inspection allowing the resort's owners to work their animals for the year ahead, experts from the Devon-based Donkey Santuary kept the animals' hoof brands up to date.

Licensing officer Al Ryder, who oversaw the inspection, explained: "Before owners are granted their licence their donkeys must first be vetted and then branded by sanctuary helpers."

Vet for the day Mike Fielding said: "Standards are pretty good on the whole, these animals are worth a lot of money to the owners and are taken good care of."

All passed with flying colours to the delight of their owners whose livelihood largely depends on their donkeys' summer earnings.

Local owner Norman Patchett said: "I have 22 donkeys in total and I'm so happy they have all passed.

"They are my main source of income and will be on the beach this season and doing the usual galas."

He went on to elaborate on the long-standing appeal of the animals: "They have a placid and good nature with bags of patience and a particular affinity towards children."

Bill Tetlow, regional welfare officer for the Donkey Sanctuary, explained the significance of the inspection: "It used to be quite easy for owners to fool the system before as there was no way of knowing which donkey had been seen.

"But with the hoof-branding there is no chance of that happening, as each has its own identification mark now.

"However, traditionally and today, Blackpool has always produced the best quality and highest standard of donkey - if anything, there are more spoilt and overweight donkeys in the resort now than ever before."

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