Rabbits blight Beatrix Potter village (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Rabbits blight Beatrix Potter village

8:00am Thursday 16th June 2011 in News By Rachel Ryan

ATTACK: Joanne Hudson at Hill Top.

THE tale of plant-munching Peter Rabbit has become a reality in the village that was once the home of his famous creator.

A bunny boom in Beatrix Potter’s village has caused a stir with rampaging rabbits munching through gardens and vegetable plots.

In the villges of Far Sawrey and Near Sawrey — which helped inspire Beatrix Potter to pen her classic Tale Of Peter Rabbit — residents have reported an unprecedented rise in the number of bunnies, which they say are ruining their gardens.

Thousands of tourists flock to Hill Top in Near Sawrey, where they can relive Miss Potter’s treasured tales, which saw Mr McGregor trying to keep the mischevious Peter Rabbit out of his garden.

Roland Shuttleworth, a plumber who has lived in the area for more than 40 years, said: “We had a problem here last year but this year it has got worse.”

He said pens had been placed around young crops in vegetable plots — including marrows for the village marrow competition.

He said: “On the road between Far Sawrey and Near Sawrey there can be up to 30 rabbits at one time. There has never been so many and we’ve never had problems in our gardens like this.”

Elizabeth Mallet, who owns a Bed and Breakfast in Near Sawrey, said: “I don’t mind the rabbits in the field but we do not want them in the gardens where they eat all our plants. We need our gardens to look nice for our businesses. I don’t know what the answer is but something needs to be done.”

She said begonias and sweet peas seemed to be firm favourites, said no flower was safe from being eaten.

“There is also a problem with the number of deer as well. At times there can be up to 15 deer grazing in the middle of the village and they have eaten the flowers in the church yard. Our gardens are just being destroyed.”

But Near Sawrey resident Vernon Chapman believes he has a solution to the problem.

Last year, his garden was left flowerless, with shrubs also being attacked, and so he got two ginger cats, Trev and Pru, now one year old, in an effort to keep rabbits out of his garden.

“We like seeing the rabbits but they are pests, but since I have had the cats I do not get them in my garden. The cats have killed more than 25 rabbits and so it is certainly working.”

Joanne Hudson, visitor experience manager at Hill Top, where rabbits have nibbled sweet peas and courgettes from the garden, said: “There are noticably more rabbits but for us it is great because visitors look across the orchard and see lots of rabbits, which is lovely.”

Gardners at Hill Top have put wire around some of the crops to prevent rabbits from nibbling them.

David Harpley, conservation manager for Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said he had not heard of a bunny boom in other places across Cumbria.

He said: “Rabbit populations do go up and down.”