A first class nest: Rare dormice move into village railway station's ticket machine

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Four tickets, please: A family of rare Glis Glis dormice were found in the machine at Little Kimble station in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire


Commuters in Aylesbury had to deal with a rather unusual delay to their journeys to work recently after a family of mice decided to nest in the local train station's ticket machine.

The four rare Glis Glis dormice were found in the machine on the platform of Little Kimble station in Buckinghamshire after complaints it had stopped working.


Les Stocker, founder of St Tiggywinkles wildlife hospital, was called to the station after Chiltern Railways customer service manager Mark Cooper was met by four pairs of eyes when he opened the train ticket machine.


Watching eye: The mice have now been relocated to St Tiggywinkles wildlife hospital


Commenting on the rather unusual problem, Mr Cooper said: 'The permit to travel machine was not working and when we opened the machine up to find out what the problem was, we found a group of Glis Glis and contacted St Tiggywinkles.

'We were glad to see the animals taking such an interest in the Chiltern Railways services from Little Kimble.'

The mammals are some of the rarest in the wild and unfortunately had to be relocated from their nest.


Chaos: Commuters were faced with an extra delay after the machine on the platform stopped working


British law does not allow the release of Edible Dormice back into the wild, even though the Chilterns have been home to wild Glis Glis for well over a hundred years so they have now joined Tiggywinkles ever increasing family.

There are believed to be around 10,000 of the rare dormice living in Britain after they were accidentally introduced in England in 1902 after a number escaped from Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild's private collection.

The population is now concentrated around Aylesbury and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is illegal to harm the tiny mammal.


The dormice now departing... Little Kimble railway station in Aylesbury, Bucks

source :dailymail