Village has a hoot over Dotty Christmas owl light

An injured owl that became a social media star has been recreated in Christmas lights by the Cornish village where it lives.

Dotty, a tawny owlet, was nurtured back to health by Diane Knight, 69, from Carnon Downs, when she damaged her leg in Mrs Knight's barn after hatching.

After videos following Dotty and her mother became a surprise Facebook hit, Mrs Knight started selling owl calendars with the proceeds going to three charities, including the village's community association.

Mrs Knight said people messaged her asking if she had seen the "massive Dotty light" in the village, which she described as "absolutely beautiful".

Mrs Knight originally set up a CCTV system to watch the owls in her barn herself, but people from all over the world began tuning in when she started feeding Dotty and her mother dead mice after Dotty's father abandoned the pair.

When Dotty's leg started flopping to one side, putting her life at risk, she was told the owlet's only chance was to put a band on her leg while it healed.

A week later, the band came off and "she could start to stand up of her own accord so it was absolutely brilliant", Mrs Knight said.

She added: "And then, not long after that, she got herself out of the box."

Mrs Knight decided to create the calendar because of the videos' popularity and to thank the people who had helped Dotty, whose full name is Dorothea.

She printed 170 calendars raising more than £620, with the money being split evenly between the village association, the British Trust for Ornithology, and Screech Owl Sanctuary and Animal Park.

Debra Roberts, secretary of the Carnon Downs Community Association, said "everybody absolutely loves" the Christmas light version of Dotty, with a post about it getting the group's highest ever number of likes.

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