The 15 painted model hares that have appeared in Winchester's streets have been popular with visitors recording their visit. I also think they have cheered people up after the constraints of the Covid period.

However if you are the parents of small children, you have probably experienced their desire to climb on the hares, something expressly forbidden

The council has created playgrounds in residential areas mostly to meet the needs of older children, which are quite expensive.

Small children often find trips to the shop boring. The council makes no facilities for children of this age.

It could be an idea to place play sculptures illustrating animal characters they have encountered in books so that they could climb on them, thus developing their physical state on the way in and out of the shops.

They would be a lot easier to handle, thus making shopping a more pleasurable experience.

It would be a lot cheaper than the residential playground and add visual interest to pedestrian streets.

Andrew Rutter

St John's Road, Winchester

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