SAL Southard is hopping mad about frogs - so much so that she shares her home with hundreds of them!

But there is never so much as a croak in the night as all the frogs are ornaments which occupy every room in her Primrose Court, Blackburn, flat which she has even named "Frogs".

In fact, Sal's collection is so large that she has lost count, but reckons there are about 400 of them.

And they come in all shapes and sizes and in all types of materials, including coconut shell, glass, crystal, pottery and wood. Frog pictures and tapestries also adorn the walls.

Said Sal: "I started collecting frogs when I was 18. I just liked the first one I got and it went from there. The most expensive one I've got cost £30, and it's quite heavy and made of brass.

"I don't know how much my collection has cost, but I remember spending £4 on one, which was very expensive at the time. One of the more unusual is a wall plaque of a frog prince which my parents bought for me from the Kremlin."

She added: "They have taken over every room in my flat, but they are mostly in my bedroom.

"My friends think I'm a bit weird and they can't see what I like about frogs. I don't buy them as much now, and I mostly get given them as birthday and Christmas presents."

It was Sal's birthday on Tuesday and she was pleased to receive another five new additions to her collection. She said she'd like to have a real frog, but there's not enough room in her flat for a pond!

If she wins the lottery, she says the first thing she'd buy would be a house with a pond, and she says you never know the frog might turn into a prince!"

Sal's collection will be featured amongst other collections from people in East Lancashire, whose hobbies will form the centre piece of an exhibition at the Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery.

The best collections - the more unusual the better - will be featured in The People's Show, which opens on May 25, and runs until September.

So far, there has been interest from other collectors, including one who has a collection of 40 stuffed camels, and another who has 1000 matchbox labels and cigarette papers.

If you have a collection the Museum and Art Gallery might consider for inclusion in the exhibition, contact Exhibitions Officer Steve Morris on (01254) 667130. Or call in at Museum Street, Blackburn, Tuesday to Friday between noon and 4.45pm and Saturdays from 9.45am to 4.45pm.

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