She may be little more than 18 months old, but the Cadbury House cow has already had a very eventful life.

Born in Scotland, she is now a popular face at the hotel in the North Somerset village of Congresbury and has even been known to enjoy a dance at wedding receptions and a few cheeky pints at the bar with guests.

But it has not all been fun and frolics for the Friesian – when being ridden by some of the guests she suffered a broken leg.

One of the West's premier hotels, Cadbury House has established the most unusual of cult figures since it opened in 2007, in the form of the life-size, plastic animal.

Now regarded as being an integral part of the brand, she regularly features in the four-star venue's marketing and sales campaigns, as well as guests' celebrations.

Mark Hands, group general manager, said: "Many guests have commented on the cow that stands in the hotel's grounds.

"The story is that co-owner Nick Taplin first saw the cow in Amsterdam while on holiday and came back to Cadbury prior to the hotel opening saying he must have a similar cow in the grounds.

"A week prior to opening, Nick woke up in a cold sweat realising we still had no cow and the hotel could not open without it, so the following day it was all hands to the phones to try to locate a life-size plastic Friesian cow.

"Fortunately, a company in Scotland was found and a special delivery arranged before the opening.

"Since its arrival, the cow has been taken on to the dance floor by wedding parties and taken to the bar by customers for a drink.

"Unfortunately, one incident involved a number of guests jumping on its back which resulted in a broken leg. Since then, the cow has been fixed to the ground."

Not content with just having a cow, the management team at the 72-bedroom hotel and spa have brought in some real animals.

Two new chickens called Benedict and Florentine are part of the hotel's drive to cut its carbon footprint, and become more self-sufficient.

Guests will soon be tucking into the hens' fresh eggs as part of their breakfast, or when they eat in the restaurant.

Plans are now under way to build a coop where the chickens will be joined by more feathered friends.

Mr Hands added: "Demand for eggs at Cadbury House can reach somewhere near 400 per day. I don't think Benedict and Florentine would be able to manage that sort of production rate on their own, but once the coop is built, we'll assess how many chickens we can keep under the strict, free-range rules."