A number of Gloucestershire villagers are petitioning the village parish council for a grant to help them get a donkey aimed at helping them trek their way from a shopping mall all the way to their residences atop a steep hill.

According to a local newspaper, around 30 residents from Rack Hill in Chalford are complaining they cannot reach their homes by car. They say they are fed up with carrying their groceries up to their 100-yard high community on top of a hill.

With the hardships they are experiencing, villagers say they want to revert to using donkeys, which were used in the village until the 1950s.

Leading the campaign is Anna Usborne who applied to the parish council for a grant to purchase a donkey with the cost from $600 to $1,200.

"The entire village is backing the campaign to bring back the Chalford donkey - it's a brilliant idea," Rack Hill resident Dave Andrews reportedly said. He added that donkeys are an eco-friendly alternative to a new road.