Dog toy exchange set up on beach in memory of pet

Bethany Short donated all Biscuit's old balls and toys for other dog owners to enjoy

A dog owner has set up a toy exchange on a beach in memory of her pet who died.

Bethany Short has donated her dog Biscuit's old balls and chewy toys and established Biscuit's Ball Exchange, a wooden crate decorated in paws left on Lytham St Anne's North Beach in Lancashire for other dog walkers to use.

She said it felt wrong to put the toys into storage and she left about 100 balls there to "bring joy" to other animals.

"We wanted them to create happy memories for other people," she said, adding: that she "cherished" her time on the beach with her dog.

Biscuit loved to run after balls on the beach so Ms Short wants other dog walkers to make similar memories

Ms Short said she could never have imagined the impact Biscuit, who died in May, would have had on her life.

"I got Biscuit in 2011 when I was a teenager, as a rescue," she said.

"When you take on a dog you commit to them being an important family member but I never could have anticipated him becoming the centre of mine and my husband's world, even being the ring bearer at our wedding."

Biscuit played a big part in Ms Short and her husband's wedding as a ring bearer

She added: "When it came time to re-home Biscuit's toys, it felt wrong to just put them away in storage, we wanted them to bring joy to other dogs and create happy memories for other people."

The toy exchange is located on the cut through from the St Anne's North Beach car park to the seafront.

The sign encourages dog walkers to "take a ball for your dog to enjoy, feel free to keep it or pop it back afterwards".

Biscuit was the "heart of our home", Ms Short says

It added: "Enjoy every moment together for they are never enough."

The tribute at the end of the sign read: "In memory of Biscuit (2006-2025).

"He loved this place almost as much as he loved balls."