Seaside donkey ride owner now has to weigh kids on beach due to obesity levels

The owner of a much-loved traditional seaside donkey ride attraction has revealed he has now taken the drastic step of weighing children before allowing them to enjoy a ride – citing concerns over the increasing weight of youngsters.

John Nuttall, 61, insists that children must stand on scales to check they are under a six-stone (38kg) limit to prevent potential harm to his donkeys, which provide rides along the sands of Skegness and Cleethorpes in Lincs.

With his family's century-long history in the donkey ride business, John has now installed scales adjacent to his mobile paddock. A clear notice informs that only those under ten years old, below 4ft 6inch (1.4m) tall, and within the weight restriction can embark on a £4 jaunt with the donkeys.

John explained: "We introduced the scales because we noticed that the kids were getting larger if you like. Everything is at the entrance to the pen the height, the signage, the scales, and you can actually see the parents checking their own kids."

He continued: "But if the odd one or two come through, we do just say 'Can we check you please', with our guidance, and if they're too heavy, they're too heavy and that's it.", reports Lancs Live.

He concluded: "The donkeys are better for it, and they're not going to knacker them out. I have just done it to protect my animals, and I'm sorry if I upset anyone, but that's the rules and that's it."

Recent data released from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health reveal that obesity levels among reception children, aged between four to five years, stood at 9.2% across England last year. Additionally, the same report highlighted that for kids in their sixth year (aged ten-11), a staggering 22.7% were found to be obese.

Interestingly, the study also uncovered that children living in socioeconomically deprived areas were twice as likely to be overweight. Specifically, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, home to Skegness, NHS figures from last year showed that 20% of children aged ten to 11 were categorised as obese.

John, who is a father to three boys and one girl, attributes this worrying trend in childhood obesity to the declining physical activity of the younger generation.

He voiced: "I think a lot of it is to do with the internet and stuff like that. They don't have to go outside and kick a ball around, they can play it quite easily on a computer, and junk food contributes to it."

"My lot were always active. All my kids were always doing something, they still are still running marathons. But we can't help it, that's the way the world is going at the moment." John mentions that his permit allows children up to 15 years old and weighing 8st to ride donkeys. But, mindful of the welfare of his animals, he stated: "I decided to drop it to my rule if you like."

"We also have to do health and safety checks and everything, and part of the licensing agreement is that we have to assess each rider for each donkey. If we think the rider has got no balance and is a bit top heavy, that's going to be dangerous for the kids to slip off. We don't want any insurance claims as well."

Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said it was "completely unacceptable to weigh a child in public and then say they can't go on a ride". But John insisted he was prioritising his animals' wellbeing.

He explained: "It's alright getting all these obesity society people saying this, but at the end of the day, they're my donkeys. You go in the fairground rides and there are height limits and everything and they're not getting moaned at."

"Although we're not getting moaned at. People do agree with what I'm doing, they understand it's a welfare issue."