Posh Brits swap mowers for marsupials

LONDON - Wallabies are replacing lawnmowers in some British country gardens as the latest way to keep large lawns and fields well clipped.

Breeders are reporting a surge in demand for the Australian marsupials, which happily munch away on grass and sell for up to 1000 pounds each.

Landowner Richard Sheepshanks is one of many people on a waiting list for a pair of wallabies, which he hopes can help maintain his four hectares of land in Suffolk, England.

"I have a wife, four children under the age of five, and we already have a menagerie with seven dogs, five sheep and four peacocks," he told The Times newspaper on Monday.

"I could use sheep to keep down the grass but they are messy and stupid."

Trevor Lay, who runs Waveney Wildlife in Suffolk, is now breeding 35 wallabies a year to keep up with demand.

"It's crazy," he said.

"To be honest, if I had 100 I could easily get rid of them."

- AAP