Numbers of the British vole - which inspired Ratty's character in the children's classic The Wind in the Willows - have plunged from seven million to less than a million in a decade.

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The children's section offers family favourites such as Wind in the Willows and Treasure Island.

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The Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has accused people opposed to the cull of being seized by a "Wind in the Willows sentimentality".

BBC: Badgers: Splitting public opinion for more than 200 years

His other production credits include TV film The Wind in the Willows, which was voiced by the likes of Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Gambon, Michael Palin and Alan Bennett.

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She says the defining characterisation of the animals in the 20th Century was framed by Kenneth Graham's classic The Wind in the Willows with its gruff, wise, brave Badger.

BBC: Badgers: Splitting public opinion for more than 200 years