Young visitors to a garden centre were able to get up close and personal to some exotic animals.

Children who went along to the Millbrook Garden Centre, Southfleet, met various creatures including a chameleon, a chinchilla, and guinea pigs.

The Station Road business was raising money for the children’s charity Greenfingers, and animals and their handlers were present at the centre on Saturday.

Lily-Mae Busbridge, six, and Helen Busbridge, met the chinchilla while Lilly Wood, four, and Pippa Wood, three, were able to get hands on with the chameleon.

Staff coincided the day to mark Green Re-Leaf Day, which celebrates the start of the gardening season and raises money for Greenfingers.

A centre spokesman said: “Lots of people turned up and we smashed our target. We collected more than expected.

“It has been brilliant. We are still totting up the amounts.”

For more pictures, pick up a copy of the Gravesend Messenger.