Ananova:

Gloucestershire villagers have applied for a council grant to buy a donkey to help them lug their shopping up a steep hill.

More than 30 residents on narrow Rack Hill in Chalford cannot reach their homes by car, reports the Daily Mirror.

They are fed up hauling shopping up the steep 100 yard hill and say donkeys, used in the village until the 50s, are an eco-friendly alternative to a new road.

Anna Usborne, leading the campaign, applied to the parish council after being quoted £300 to £600 to buy a donkey from a nearby sanctuary.

Rack Hill resident Dave Andrews said: "The entire village is backing the campaign to bring back the Chalford donkey - it's a brilliant idea".

Archive pictures of the village, dating to the 30s, show donkeys delivering bread as well as coal from a nearby canal.