Children in Wonderland at Cheshire Home’s tea party

‘The Queen is very, very mean. She is quite horrible,’ said 11-year-old Caitlin Tucker, who nevertheless had great fun at the event.

‘I have enjoyed all the activities, like carrot-tossing, sack races, colouring and croquet, and the rabbits are very soft and cute.’

The Queen of Hearts was less impressed with the children than they were with the party.

‘I’ve had to chop off three heads,’ she said.

‘They have eaten all my jam tarts and they are very rude.’

Children tucked into a scrumptious lunch with characters from the much-loved children’s book, including the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter. Some went dressed as Alice in Wonderland characters and had pictures taken with the mean Queen.

Alf Symphorien’s rabbits were popular with the children. He took 10 to the event, around a quarter of those he owns.

‘I think I’ve got 41 at the moment, but I’ve had 100 in the past,’ he said.

‘The children love them. Some children might never have seen rabbits before. They ask a few questions and you can teach the children a bit. Rabbits themselves are quite clever. It’s surprising what you can teach them and the children enjoy seeing the differences between them and petting them.’

One of Mr Symphorien’s rabbits has picked up the unusual habit of jumping off the floor onto a chair, which amused the children at the party.

‘He does it himself. I never taught him. He will do it even if someone is sat on the chair, but he jumps down again if they don’t pet him,’ he said.