WHEN Jack Barrett walks down the street with his friend 'Eric' his neighbours know he's not kidding!

The scaffolder not only shares his home with his four-month-old goat but also takes him on holiday, shopping and on long walks in the park.

The dad-of-two said he was inspired to take in 'Eric' after seeing the Australian TV programme 'The Jimbo and Gary the Goat comedy show'.

Eric always causes a stir and can often be seen walking on his lead in Towneley Park, Burnley.

The young buck sleeps in the house with Mr Barrett, and his family and has almost 100 followers on his own Instagram page.

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The 39-year-old said he has owned cats and dogs before, but owning a goat tops the lot.

He said: "It's fantastic, he's very tame and well behaved.

"He's got quite a chilled personality, he's laid back and gets a positive reaction from people when I walk him.

"He gets on with my children really well, my oldest, Max has cerebral palsy and he loves to stroke Eric and play with him."

'Eric' even became a 'goat on a boat' while joining his family on a sailing holiday in Windermere recently.

Pygmy goats are related to the west African dwarf goat and were taken to Europe during the colonial era.

Male goats can weigh up to 39 kilogrammes and stand up to more than half-a-metre tall.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, anyone responsible for an animal has legal responsibility to meet five basic welfare needs, including a proper diet, somewhere suitable to live, the need to be housed with or apart from other animals, allowed to express normal behaviour ad protection and treatment of illness and injury.

Goat owners must comply with extra laws, which include identification, registration on land they are kept, transport and medicine records.

Mr Barrett, from Burnley, said: "I would recommend them as pets, they're really great.

"We've tried to get Eric into a routine with his toilet habits, he's slowly getting used to it."