Restaurant kanga-roof upsets the neighbours

The owners of a restaurant in a picture-postcard village on the Isle of Wight have angered neighbours and councillors by putting a kangaroo on their roof.

Australian Rick Hilton and his wife, Maggie, have had the kangaroo shaped into the thatched roof at the Royal Essex Cottage restaurant in Godshill.

Complaints have been made because Godshill is a conservation area and the Royal Essex Cottage a listed building.

Isle of Wight Council planners, moved by complaints from Godshill Parish Council, have told the Hiltons that they must apply for planning permission and that their chances of a successful application are slim.

Maggie Hilton, however, said her kangaroo attracted positive comments from visitors and a lot of people took photos of it.

She said: "Everybody loves Roo. He's really lovely and he's in keeping with what we're doing here. It's really tastefully done."