If passers-by looked hard enough on Saturday they may have spotted a Mole, a Toad or even a Badger in Oxford's city centre.

Dozens of hopefuls turned up at the Old Fire Station, in George Street, for open auditions to get a spot in a production of The Wind In The Willows.

Oxford theatre company BMH Productions, which is staging the show, said it was looking for actors who had an "animal quality".

The play is based on the classic children's story by Kenneth Grahame, set alongside the banks of the River Thames and follows the lives of the four animals - Toad, Rat, Badger and Mole.

Mabel Akinyemi, 34, of Oxford, took along her husband and two children to audition for parts.

She said "I saw the sign as I was passing the other day and thought the whole family could come down. I brought the children, because they're actors every day at home anyway."

Daughter Yemi, eight, said: "I like acting at school. I would like to be on television one day."

Husband Akin, 49, and son Tobi, seven, also auditioned.

Other hopefuls had performed in some of BMH Productions' previous productions, including Macbeth, The Full Monty and The Merchant of Venice.

They were put through their paces with a group warm-up before auditioning with scripts from the show. Director Katy Rudd said: "We are looking for people with massive amounts of energy. They need the ability to make a person as an animal believable which is quite a hard task. You can tell by the way they move if they are a weasel for instance."

The cast is likely to be chosen at the end of the week. The show will be on August 12 to 16 at the Old Fire Station.