Shrewsbury pest controller reveals fondness for ferrets

The last thing you would expect of a pest controller is that they would have furry animals scurrying around their home.

But Jim Eaton has no fewer than 17 ferrets keeping him and his wife Lorraine company at their Bayston Hill home.

Mr Eaton, who runs a Pest Force franchise in the Shrewsbury area, asked his wife whether he could get a ferret to help him root out rabbits when he set up in business three years ago. She took to the creature so much that another 16 have since joined it in the family home.

Mr Eaton said: "It all started when I set up working on my own three years ago. I use ferrets for chasing rabbits, and my wife found out online that they are social animals and need company, so we ended up buying another two.

"She then went online again and ended up getting invited to show them up in Newcastle in Staffordshire, and she got talking to people there who told her there were a whole set of shows, similar to dog shows."