Hilarious hedge creation has lovingly been maintained by a family for the last 15 years

Story and video from SWNS

These stunning pictures show a hilarious 20ft high jolly-looking hedge creation that has lovingly been maintained by a family for the last 15 years.

Homeowner Susan Sanderson, 75, has kept the enormous garden boundary as a tribute to her widow John, who cultivated the creation one day while she was out shopping.

The enormous extravagant design - which features eyes, ears, a nose and a mouth - appears to show an animal with a surprised expression on its face.

The animal-like creation, which features a rabbit nestling on its long back, looks like it could be a giant caterpillar, but from the front, it could be a bunny.

But what it is supposed to represent remains a mystery to Susan, who said the husband of 46 years John only ever described it as “whatever you want it to be”.

Susan, a mother-of-four, said the sculpture has caught the attention of walkers and neighbours over the years - but she hated it at first.

She said: “John had a fantastic sense of humour and he was always playing pranks and making people laugh.

“He kept saying to me one morning - ‘are you going out today?’, I had planned to go shopping and he was keen for me to go out, he couldn’t get rid of me quick enough.

“He absolutely had the thing planned because when I came home, he’d had it all done.

“I said ‘goodness me, what is that?’

“He said ‘well I like it'. Everybody likes it around here so it’s lasted ever since.”

Susan has grown to love the hedge, however, and it has taken on an added poignancy since John tragically died eight years ago.

Since his death, the couple’s oldest son Mark, 51, has taken over tending to the hedge, which the family have even decorated to mark the Olympics and Christmas in the past.

Susan added: “Mark has kept it going. We couldn’t be without it now to be honest.

“I’m not a sentimental person, but the hedge is the one thing I do like to remember John by. It does stick with me that it was his idea and he did it and he loved it.

“I can’t even remember what it looked like before.

“It’s his legacy really, he was always a very happy person, he was never, ever miserable and nothing could bring him down. He always saw the funny side of everything.”

The hedge, in the family’s house in Willaston on the Wirral, requires trimming twice a year.

It has delighted neighbours with its Christmas decorations and the family dressed it up to celebrate the 2012 Olympic Games.

And over the past 12 months, it has kept locals entertained during lockdown on their daily exercise walks.

But Susan insists she doesn’t know exactly what it is supposed to be.

She added: “Some people say it looks like a caterpillar, some people say a rabbit.

“Whenever anyone asked John he just said ‘whatever and whoever you want it to be’ and that’s what we tell people now when they ask.

“People will stop on their walks and look at it and they obviously find it funny.

“Our neighbours have changed quite a few times over the years, but everybody has liked it.

“We get lots of lovely comments from people going past, everyone seems to enjoy it.

“We've seen it on Google in Scotland and there was a lady outside the other day who said that she sent some photographs of it to someone in Australia and they thought it was wonderful.

“I think everybody is glad to see it, it’s something to smile at. It just brings a bit of joy to people.”

Tragically John died eight years, just two weeks after the couple celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary.

Susan said: “He always playing tricks on the kids, he was just a happy, positive person.

“He just came to bed one night and forgot he had to wake up again. He hadn’t been ill or anything. It was really sad, but he was with us and that’s all that mattered.

“He’s still with us in a way, he lives on through his hedge”.