Donkey lovers all over the UK are getting involved in National Donkey Week 2016 to raise awareness of just how many donkeys are living in poor conditions and need our help.

Donkey Week 2016 runs for the second week of May and has been set up by national charity The Donkey Sanctuary.

 To find out a bit more about why donkeys are such fascinating creatures we caught up with Steve Graham, the owner of Orchard Donkeys, which is based between Pennington and Ulverston.

Mr Graham, 65, of Dalton Road, Askam, has just moved his eight donkeys and two horses to their summer accommodation in a spacious field near Dragley Beck in Ulverston. He said: "I have had donkeys for about ten years now. We breed them and they do a summer tour of local festivals and carnivals in the summer months.

"The donkey we keep here have a life of riley but obviously there are donkeys in other parts of the world that don't have such a lucky time of it. 

"You do see donkeys in places like Egypt that are mistreated and very thin but I think that is just a direct result of the poverty the people are suffering there. They don't have the resources that we do, where as we would use a car and trailer they still have to rely on donkeys and there might be some ignorance too on how to properly care for the animals.

"It's such a shame because donkeys are incredibly clever, hard working and they all have their own individual characteristics."

Mr Graham and his donkeys are just beginning their summer season, where they will offer children rides at all the different summer events. They usually only work every other weekend and the rest of the time they can all chill out in their paddock. 

All of the donkeys at Orchard Donkeys have names and are bred from the same female - a black donkey called Molly. Mr Graham sells most of Molly's foals  to stop the herd inter-breeding and she is the only female in the group. 

The only one of Molly's offspring that still lives with the herd is Harry, who is quite a size for a donkey and the biggest that Mr Graham has ever seen. Harry is only young and will turn five this year so this summer will be his first season giving out rides.

The Donkey Sanctuary has been holding National Donkey Week for a few years now and invites people to visit their centres all over the country. They are an international animal welfare charity and aim to protect donkeys and mules and promote their welfare worldwide. 

The Donkey Sanctuary help donkeys 30 countries worldwide. There are 4,725 donkeys cared for at sanctuaries and holding bases across the UK and Europe. More than a million donkeys have been reached in their five largest project countries which are Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Kenya and Mexico. 

Donkeys are so often misunderstood but Mr Graham feels that they are even more intelligent than horses. He said: "A well cared for donkey can probably outlive two horses and that's because they are so clever. When it rains here the donkeys are straight in the shelter and the horses just stand around outside getting wet.

"They are also very sensitive creatures with long memories like elephants. One of our little grey donkeys Danny is terrified of men. I think that when he was very young before we bought him he was badly beaten by a man and he has never forgotten about it. With women, like my wife or granddaughter, he is really friendly and confident but even after years of me being gentle with him he is still wary."

The Orchard Donkeys have the company of Mr Graham's appaloosa horse Blade and piebald mare Shelley and they all get on very well. You can meet Harry, Molly, Danny and the rest of the herd at events such as town carnivals and summer festivals.

To find out more about helping donkeys worldwide visit: www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk