Animal-lovers can meet a whole host of furry friends at a town's mini petting zoo which has officially reopened.

Pets Corner, also known as Oulton Broad Mini Zoo, was a day out enjoyed by many families in its heyday and now the petting zoo has returned with new enclosures and animals.

Scott Petty took over Pets Corner, on Bridge Road, back in 2019 with plans to use his knowledge of the leisure industry to make it a thriving attraction again.

Mr Petty, who is also the owner of Leisure Island Fun Park in Essex, decided to invest in a complete revamp of the site including the build of bigger enclosures for the animals.

The 54-year-old kept on the original zoo staff who have continued to care for the animals while it has been closed.

On Saturday November 6, staff and the animals welcomed back their first visitors.

Mr Petty said: “We took over at the start of 2019 and there was a lot of work to be done to bring the place to a standard good enough for the animals and for the public to visit.

“Then Covid came along and put a stop to a lot of the work, but we carried on as much as we would and we are now in a position that we have enough animals and enclosures to open to the public.

“We are from a leisure company and this came up for sale, we came and had a look and we could see its potential.

“We are not experienced at all in this industry but we understand visitor attractions so hopefully we can combine our expertise with the existing staffs' knowledge of animal welfare.”

Visitors to the new and improved zoo will be able to see all animals old and new, including chickens, peacocks, pheasants, geese, goats, ponies, piglets and chinchillas.

Mr Petty said a new rodent house will also open within the next few weeks and there is “much more to come” – including the build of a reptile house and the introduction of wallabies and rheas.

“It was nice to see people appreciating the size of the enclosures the animals are now in,” he said.

“They were really happy to be back after so long.”

Pets Corner is now open every weekend from 10am until 3pm.