Mice living in adorable Hobbit-style hand-crafted model village become YouTube stars
and live on Freeview channel 276
Video shows what life is like in this quirky mini-village, which has all been hand-crafted in a back garden. Simon Dell began making the mini Shire in spring 2018 when he spotted a wild mouse and wanted to protect it from nearby cats.
Protecting mice from predators
The photographer started the project 6 years ago, when he piled some small logs around a box as a home for the mouse and covered it with moss and straw to give him a little shelter. He added some wire fencing around the fence so there was no way the cats could get to the mouse - and even gave him a name - George.
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Hide Ad![Simon Dell with the mice houses he has created in his garden in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.](https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/04/11/10/30/simon%20dell%20mice%20village.jpg.jpg?trim=0,779,0,124&width=640&quality=65)
![Simon Dell with the mice houses he has created in his garden in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.](/img/placeholder.png)
Creative garden project
As more mice entered the garden, the wildlife photographer began adding more to the tiny houses, fashioning detailed dining tables, washing lines, motorbikes and even a weights set for the adorable rodents.
Social media sensation
Simon said: "The mice seem to love the log pile homes and wasted no time in moving in.” He sits a couple feet away with a zoom lens, as they pop in and out of the tiny huts - and has become a social media sensation with over 152k followers.
50 year old Simon documents daily village activities across his social media channels (George the Mouse in a log pile house). He said: "Without photography and the fun of making little things for little things, I could soon sink back in to deep depression.
"Photography gave me a reason to get up and out again and the mouse village gave me back my smile. I hope it gives others the same joy it gives me."
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