PRIME Minister David Cameron has heaped praise on Cotswold Wildlife Park in a new book about how the park came to be.

Rhinos on the Lawn is the first official book to be published about the park and is an account of the venue’s evolution over the past four decades.

It is the brainchild of John Heyworth, who in 1969 transformed the bramble-strewn wilderness of Bradwell Grove Estate into a wildlife park that has been visited by more than 12 million people since it officially opened on March 27, 1970.

The book, written by Matthew Jones, has been described as an extraordinary tale of commitment from John and the dedicated and passionate keepers and staff who have contributed so much to the park and its continuing success. John’s son Reggie now runs the park.

In the foreword, Mr Cameron, who is MP for Witney – the constituency the park is in, said: “When Samantha and I first moved to the Cotswolds all those years ago, one of our first family explorations was to the Cotswold Wildlife Park.

“It was a trip down memory lane as we had both been there as children and had very happy memories of all it had to offer.

“Having the park in my constituency means that I have also occasionally had official dealings with it – I was invited to open its new train station in 2007, a rare event for an MP.

“Two years later, the park wrote to me about the bureaucracy involved with importing two young female white rhinos: I must have helped somehow, because one of them on her arrival at the park was named Nancy, after my daughter.”

The book was started in 2010 and during his research Mr Jones discovered many photographs and archive documents that will be made public for the first time in his book.

“I really like the story of the park’s opening day on Good Friday 1970,” he said.

“Mr Heyworth and the curator Brian Sinfield were worried that no one would turn up.

“They weren’t prepared for the number of people that came and, as the public kept turning up and the traffic queued up to Burford roundabout, everyone including the keepers had to be drafted in to help with ticket sales and clear the backlog, so their pockets were bulging with shillings and pence.”

Rhinos on the Lawn, priced at £12.99, is available from the park’s gift shop, Blackwell’s in Oxford, Waterstones in Witney and Burford Garden Company.