A £100,000 addition to Lakeland Wildlife Oasis allows visitors to eat lunch in the company of exotic monkeys.

The wildlife park at Hale, near Milnthorpe, has opened a cafe where diners can get up close and personal with five Emperor Tamarin monkeys.

The Wild Café is situated in the attraction’s refurbished conservatory, and allows visitors to look straight into the monkeys’ enclosure.

Lakeland Wildlife Oasis, which bills itself as the ‘little zoo with lots to do’ is run by a charity, the Lakeland Trust for National Sciences.

Charity founder Jo Marsden said: “I’ve always loved monkeys and wanted to bring some to the Oasis.

“We’ve four girls and one boy and they share their enclosure with a couple of pheasants. This environment is perfect for them. They are nosy little creatures, and love watching everyone watching them.”

Oasis also offers the opportunity for people to enter the enclosure with a keeper and help feed the family.

Assistant manager Jayne Gibbins said: "We wanted to increase the capacity of our dining area so adding a large sheltered seating area alongside the Tamarins’ enclosure was an obvious choice.

“It's brilliant that we've been able to create this viewing area so people can be entertained while they eat. The Emperor Tamarins are absolutely the stars of the show.

“Sometimes I'm not sure who's enjoying it more, the monkeys or the children.”