Donkey rides can no longer be enjoyed on a British beach due to "health and safety rules", a media report said.
Officials say they are concerned in case one of the animals injures a sunbather, Daily Express reported Thursday.
Jayne Johns, who started her rides business last year, has given up as the local council has said it was too dangerous to walk a donkey when the beach was crowded. She was told that she would have to utilise a stretch of beach a mile from the pier at Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
Mr. Johns said her donkeys - Tom, Rupert, Barney and Joseph - would not be on the beach, adding: “It is a great shame but it seems we have been beaten by health and safety rules. There was no way I could continue at the site the council chose - it was a good 15-minute walk from the main beach and hardly anyone went there. It is so sad for the youngsters who come to Clacton.”
“We’ve never had any problems with the donkeys and we always clean up after them,” she was quoted as saying.
Daily Express quoted Tendring district council spokesperson Nigel Brown as saying: “The main beach was packed with people on many occasions last summer and if donkeys were allowed it could lead to a conflict with other users. We were happy to accommodate the donkeys but it had to be in the most appropriate location.”
