Bears, wild boar, and an otter who shared her name were cared for by a schoolgirl when she took charge of Wildwood animal park for the day.

Six-year-old Freya Haynes fed the animals, took photographs of them and made sure the Easter bunnies were where they should be during her stint at the conservation park just outside Herne Bay.

Marketing manager Daniel Farrow explained: “She’s come down to boss us around and she’s been running around, keeping an eye on things and making sure we’re ticking along on this busy day.”

The special day was her prize for winning a writing competition in which primary school children had to compose a creative account of their walk to school. The contest, organised by the KM Charity Team, encouraged youngsters to write about what happens on their journey to school, who and what they see as they go, and how it makes them feel.

Freya, a pupil at Archbishop Courtenay Primary School in Eccleston Road, Tovil, Maidstone, said: “I loved feeding all the animals, particularly Freya the otter.”

Wildwood’s 40-acre woodland park is home to more than 200 native British animals including lynx, beavers, wolves, arctic foxes, red squirrels, and owls. It also supports conservation work.

The KM Charity Team’s next Be the Boss writing competition is now open for entry. It asks children to write about which superhero they would like to walk to school with and why. To find out more, visit www.kmcharityteam.co.uk/writingcomp before the July 2 deadline.

The children’s charity also provides walk to school services for schools and is supported by White’s Transport, Ashford International Hotel, Orbit, Volker Highways, Countrystyle Recycling, Golding Vision (part of Golding Homes), Specsavers, Eurostar, Kent County Council, Medway Council, London Borough of Bexley, Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, Maidstone Borough Council, Ashford Borough Council, and Whitefriars.

Schools interested in signing up to green travel programmes including Active Wow and Green Footsteps should visit www.kmwalktoschool.co.uk