Tourism leaflet cartoon sparks kanga-row

Visitors to Shropshire's lake district could be forgiven for thinking they are Down Under after a cartoon kangaroo was chosen to guide walkers along a new trail.

Campaigner Ken Dakin says he is baffled as to why animals such as herons and ducks, which live at The Mere in Ellesmere, have been overlooked in the leaflet for visitors.

The Mere was reopened by civic leaders from Shropshire Council and Ellesmere Town Council last week following a £2million makeover.

Now Mr Dakin, who led a one-man protest at the reopening ceremony, claiming the project had been mismanaged, is demanding to know why the cartoon marsupial was chosen to welcome walkers to the north Shropshire beauty spot.

He said today: "I think the leaflet is exceedingly juvenile and I thought it was totally inappropriate they used an animal which lives as far away from Ellesmere as you can possibly get. Herons live on The Mere not kangaroos. I wonder if they will tell us ostriches live here next.

"Either the council haven't used their creative abilities properly or they are just naive about the locality the leaflet is for."

He said an older leaflet about walks around Ellesmere was "far more sober" and made no mention of Australian animals.

Two leaflets sporting the cartoon kangaroo are on the Shropshire Council website.

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The two-page leaflets have been launched to coincide with the mereside revamp. Council parks and countryside sites manager Carolyn Healy said: "The leaflet is part of the Family Friendly Walks series.

"The aim of these leaflets is to encourage children and families to enjoy walking in the countryside.

"The kangaroo facts box is a fun way of providing some interesting information and is on all of the family friendly walks leaflets.

"The kangaroo is intended as a friendly character that appeals to children."