NOWHERE could the saying ‘what a difference a year makes’ could be more apt than Caenhill Countryside centre in Devizes.

This time last year the farm and educational centre was little known outside of Devizes and surrounding villages.

But now thanks to the power of social media it is famous all over the world and has a huge number of followers on Tik Tok, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Chris Franklin and his wife Hellie now hope to harness that power to help them take their dream of changing the lives of children and caring for abandoned animals to a new level.

Mr Franklin, who gained a worldwide audience with his Rush Hour videos of his animals being let out in the morning, is in huge demand for recorded call outs to people for everything from birthdays and weddings to anniversaries and births.

He does not charge but hopes those who he mentions will send donations to help feed the menagerie of animals that includes everything from ducks and geese to alpacas and donkeys.

Mr Franklin said: “It is fantastic that so many people now know about what we do and I just love making people happy.

“But we have to see this an opportunity to expand what we are doing for the animals and for children.

“We work with both Devizes School and Downlands School in Devizes and take youngsters who have been excluded or those who need to learn life skills rather than just academic lessons.

“It is incredible how they change. We set them firm boundaries which some of them rebel against at first. I had one lad who didn’t want to do what I asked so I said he would have to leave.

“The next morning he came back and apologised and has been a fantastic worker ever since.”

The centre takes in many waifs and stray animals and is setting up a new small animal section to care for those that are handed in. It is also expanding its work with the Duke of Edinburgh scheme.