DONKEYS working on Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach were also granted a 48-hour week yesterday and council inspectors will check that they are getting their full lunch break.

Councillors discussed what a donkey should get for lunch and decided it should be about an hour. The sands will be patrolled to ensure no donkeys are missing out on their employment rights.

The 200-plus animals carry children for rides along the resort’s beaches throughout the summer. Council rules state donkeys must only work from 10am to 7pm, have an hour off for lunch, and must have every Friday off.

Officials said they wanted to ensure their donkeys were happy and healthy as they have been part of the resort’s history since Victorian times.

The donkeys’ employment rights will be protected by the council’s donkey inspectors to ensure they are not being overworked by their owners. They will also get their annual “donkey MoT” by vets to ensure they are healthy enough to work.

They will line up on the sand on Friday, their day of rest, while officials, accompanied by vets, check their hooves, ears, teeth and coats. Any owner whose animal is not up to scratch will not get an operator’s licence.

The animals, which were first brought to Britain to toil down mines, take tens of thousands of children on £2 rides each season.

A council spokeswoman said: “We do spot checks throughout the summer season to make sure they are having a break.

“Some people might think it is quite a hard day on the beach with no break on a busy day. It is an important part of our tourism business.

“We want the donkeys to be happy and healthy. The donkeys’ Friday off is a by-law that has been in place for, well, donkey’s years.”

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