Britain’s oldest beach entertainment has moved into the 21st century with the first plastic payment for donkey rides being taken on Blackpool beach.
Parents can now pay £2.50 for rides on Dillon the donkey with a contactless credit or debit card.
Mark Ineson, owner of Real Donkeys, asked Barclaycard at the beginning of this season to give Dillon a technology make-over.
The numnah is extended beyond the back of the saddle to take the contactless machine.
“It’s another option for people to pay and means we are moving with the times,” said Mr Ineson, who has been working with beach donkeys for 20 years.
The machine was fitted on 21 August and will be trialled until November.
First published in Horse & Hound magazine on Thursday 4 September
