WE’VE already got candy floss and kiss-me-quick hats, and now donkeys are set to make a comeback in Clacton.

After an absence of about 20 years, donkey rides are about to return.

Tendring Council has issued a licence to Jayne Johns who will operate £2-a-go rides from the town’s Martello Bay beach from April 5.

Mrs Johns, who lives in Rayleigh, has had a horse box kitted out for the donkeys.

She got the idea to bring back the seaside tradition after her husband Martin bought her a donkey for her 40th birthday.

The 48-year-old has now given up her day job working as an assistant in a pharmacy and started trying to make her dream a reality.

She said: “I did look at other areas nearer to home, but I did not get the same response from other authorities as I did from Tendring.

“The reaction I got was a very positive one and I was made to feel welcome.”

The donkeys will be commuting with Mrs Johns to the beach on Sundays and every other day in the school holidays.

“If it’s really busy I might go more days,” she added.

“I am really excited about it. It’s something I have always wanted to do. It’s a nice bit of nostalgia.”

She said the donkeys – who are very sociable and love to be with people – are very relaxed with travelling and she would make sure they get rest in between trips.

Pierre Oxley, portfolio holder for leisure at Tendring Council, said: “I remember in my youth when they used to operate donkey rides on an area at the end of the Greensward and I am sure that bringing them back to the town will prove a popular move.

“They are very much a part of the traditional activities of a seaside resort and Mrs Johns has met all the necessary criteria.”

Mr Oxley said the leisure service had checked with environmental charity Encams to make sure operating donkey rides on the beach would not affect the chances of obtaining European Blue Flag or Quality Coast Award status.

Donkey rides are also provided on Bathhouse Meadow, Walton, and that licence has just been renewed.