'I built a tiny castle for mice in my garden'

Nestled at the bottom of a North Yorkshire garden is a castle fit for a mouse.

Draped in colourful flags and surrounded by toadstools, the miniature kingdom in New Earswick was set up by Christie Barnes.

She became fascinated with the creatures in her garden during the coronavirus lockdowns and started leaving out nuts to attract mice and voles.

Her interest "snowballed" from there and she crafted the lavishly decorated castle and adjoining dollhouse for the creatures.

Furnished with a chandelier, velour chair and battery-powered fireplace, the castle has been described by some as a mice paradise.

It is also fitted with three cameras and stocked with food, as a way to capture the almost-royal rodents' movements.

"I know they see it as a permanent place now because I've been feeding them for three to four years," Christie said.

"They know it's a place where they can get their food.

"What they've done is create a tunnel system underground so they come up through the top into the castle and it is all protected so the cats can't get in."

She said up to four mice could be in the castle at one time.

"When I'm updating or adding a new bit, they can find it a bit weird because something has changed but within a couple of days they're back," Christie said.

"I decorated the castle for Christmas, I decorated it for Halloween. My friends and family love it, they ask if I can keep sharing photos and videos," she added.

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