SUPERMARKET worker Sarah Onions was so impressed with the lifelike quality of a cuddly badger in the window display of the Exmoor Producers' Association shop in Minehead that she went to take a closer look. The 30-year-old was on her way home with her partner, local butcher Allen Hosken, last Thursday evening after enjoying a few drinks in a local pub. But as the couple went to admire what they thought was a soft toy in the Friday Street shop, it moved. In fact, the 'toy' scurried across the window display. "We'd had a bit to drink but not that much. It's not something you expect to see in a shop window" Sarah told the Free Press. EPA chairman Phil Taphouse and his wife Sue, who is the organisation's manager, were summoned from their home in Carhampton and brought along a volunteer from the Secret World Wildlife Rescue at East Huntspill, who lives nearby. "When we arrived, the badger was asleep on the shop floor. But as soon as we opened the door it scuttled off and hid behind the metal panelling in the counter area," said Phil. "It was very stressed and frightened but eventually Nessa, the Secret World volunteer, managed to coax it into a cage, with the help of a towel and making sure she was heavily protected with gloves. "We just couldn't believe our eyes. "We know the Free Press runs a Spot the Badger competition every week but this was a case of spot the real one." The badger, believed to be fairly young but not a cub, was taken to the Secret World centre but found to be anaemic and suffering from a heart murmur. It was also very under-nourished and had a nasty wound on its back which led vets to decide that, sadly, they had no option but to put it down. "It appeared as though it was the runt of a litter and had probably been chased out of a local sett by other badgers, which is apparently something that happens when food is scarce,' said Phil. He had only left the shop, which is run on a voluntary basis by EPA members - a couple of hours before receiving the call about the surprise visitor as he had been working on a project to convert the back of the premises into a gallery and office. "When I'd arrived just after 6pm I'd found what I thought was a pile of dog's mess on the floor. "I thought it was a bit strange but in the warm weather we had been leaving the back door open, which leads onto a very overgrown garden belonging to the residents of the flats above. "I just assumed that perhaps somebody in the flats had a dog." However, the Taphouses and badger experts are still mystified as to how the badger got into the shop, since it is unlikely to have scaled the eight- to-ten feet high wall which totally encloses the garden. "We've checked outside the back and no-one can understand how it possibly got in that way," said Phil. "The only possible explanation is that it came in through the front door of the shop, which we have been leaving open during the day because it has been so hot. "Certainly nobody noticed - otherwise we might have tried to sell it some of our top quality locally made chocolate or honey or even a pair of earrings!" However, EPA members are so grateful for the assistance given by the Secret World Centre - which runs entirely on donations - that they are now holding a window display competition to help raise funds for the organisation. From today (Friday) shoppers will have the chance to guess the number of badger-related items in the window. The 20p entry fee will be matched by the EPA and the winner will receive a £10 voucher to spend in the shop.