Tuesday, January 27, 2009,                        

KIDS can breathe a sigh of relief – the seaside donkeys may be coming back.
Donkey rides had been a fixture on Thanet’s beaches since 1790, but many feared that tradition was over last year when supervisor Nick Gunn said he was retiring from the job and had no one else was available to take up the reins.
However, at a meeting last week Broadstairs town clerk Roy Dexter revealed the rides could resume in Viking Bay.

Organiser Mr Gunn, who has been running the rides for 15 years, confirmed he has had a change of heart and may carry on providing the seaside treat to kids and families.
He said: “I’ve been in talks with Thanet council and the person who can give it the OK has not done so yet, but I’m very hopeful we will be returning.”

Mr Gunn, who also runs a B&B guesthouse in Whitstable, was the last remaining donkey ride licence holder in Margate and the owner of Britain’s oldest donkey ride outfit.

The news has buoyed tourism chiefs who were worried the animals’ departure might affect visitor numbers.
David Wills, vice chairman of the Crampton Tower Museum in Broadstairs, said: “We are highly delighted with the news. Anything that brings more visitors to the town and enhances their experience is to be welcomed.”
Mac Towe, who runs the Pavilion on the Sands venue next to the Viking Bay beach, said: “It’s good news for Broadstairs, both for the aesthetic look they provide as a traditional seaside view, and for business here. The kids love it and their parents bring them down here for it.   “I’m sure some people will complain about the mess they make, but as long as they are well looked after I haven’t got a problem with it.”

Donkeys Rocky, 13, and Smokey, 20, will have to say goodbye to their current keepers at Sparsholt College in Hampshire, where they are helping to teach kids the art of husbandry – the practice of looking after farm animals, cultivating land for food and raising livestock.  The pair were moved to the college after Mr Gunn announced his retirement in July last year having worked the Margate beach circuit for 15 years.

Mr Gunn’s other donkeys, Bramble, Fury, Rosie and Teresa, were also rehomed or sold on to be used at other Kent beaches.