How Tiny 'Fairy Doors' Are a Growing Cause of Concern
Will the door close on these fairies?
— -- Hundreds of miniature doors have been installed on trees in a forest of Somerset in southwestern Britain.
Why? So children can leave messages for fairies.
"It started more than eight years ago,” said Steven Acreman, a spokesman for the Wayford Woods Charitable Trust, "but numbers have gradually picked up, reaching 200, maybe 300 doors.”
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One visitor, Jake Birkett, recently visited the woods with his sons.
“The doors are fun for adults and kids,” Birkett told ABC New, “People are having fun making and placing them and my kids loved hunting them out.”
However, locals are now worried that the proliferation of doors has brought too much attention to the woods and could cause unwarranted damage.
“I’m not admitting to evicting fairies, but we need to implement a strict quality control,” said Acreman, whose group helps in the conservation of the woods.
“There are about six or eight screws in each door so even if it takes 10 to 20 years, it could kill the trees,” he added.
“If you see a 4-year-old play around them, it’s wonderful to see,” said Acreman, “but it is causing a real strain on the village and causing a lot of friction."