Owner Rachel Phillips, who runs donkeys on Scarborough beaches, explained: "Crackerjack is the result of one night of passion involving a Welsh mountain pony and a donkey called Bellajade so technically he is not a donkey foal but a hinny. Hinnies are quite unusual because not a lot of people breed them."

To avoid confusion, especially among children, Crackerjack will probably be described as a mule when he starts working with her other donkeys on the beach.

Mrs Phillips has 18 donkeys operating in Scarborough while her sister, Amanda Pickles, has 10 in Filey. Hinnies were once bred in wartime for carrying heavy loads.

"He is a cheeky little so and so and he will make an ideal beach animal when he is older," said Mrs Phillips.

That will be around when he is four or five years old.

In the meantime he will be running around in a field getting used to people and other donkeys and later he will be saddled up and bridled as part of his learning experience. Later he will be taken to the beach to get used to that and if a vet passes him as fit to be beach donkey then he will start plying his trade.