A homeowner concerned that his garden was becoming a jungle - has transformed it into a herd of elephants.

Green-fingered Gavin Hogg fell in love with the wildlife during a safari in Kenya .

So much so, that when he returned to Britain , he found an inspired way to recreate a little bit of Africa in his back garden.

The 49-year-old painstakingly carved out a herd of elephants from an overgrown hedgerow.

He spent two days crafting the seven adults and three babies with a trimmer, shears - and a pair of scissors for the fiddly bits.

The result is a striking 100ft-long trail of green elephants that stretches around the corner of his family home outside Brecon in Mid Wales.

Mr Hogg said: 'It was just a normal, fairly boring box hedge when I started. I found a picture of a group of elephants and set about shaping it. Time seemed to disappear while I was working on it.

'I was able to create the appearance of folds in the skin and shadow lines for shoulder blades and hips.

'I also clipped an eye in some of the adult elephants to give it greater authenticity. It was a lot of work and the ears and trunks were a bit tricky but I am pleased with the end result.'

Father-of-two Mr Hogg and his wife Vina, who visited the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya , farm organic vegetables at their 17th century home.

He added: 'It's great to see our own herd of elephants every time we look out of the window, even if they are green. They will need a haircut twice a year to smarten them up. But they will be a permanent feature.'

The topiary elephants are cut out of a hedge of common box (Buxus sempervirens) which was planted about 200 years ago.

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