MEERKAT triplets at Dudley Zoo now have names thanks to a six-year-old's winning suggestions.

Zoo keepers were struggling to name the new arrivals so decided to throw it open to the public.

The competition winner was Ella-May Parsons from Dudley, who thought Eddie, Minky and Matilda would be perfect names for the trio.

Ella-May, who goes to Blanford Mere Primary School in Kingswinford, received a special triple meerkat adoption pack as her prize.

Team leader on the ungulates section, Jay Haywood, said: “Eddie, Minky and Matilda sounded like a nice mix of names and really caught my eye as I was selecting a winner from the hundreds of entries.

“We are so grateful to everyone who took part and came up with ideas, the response was overwhelming.

"It really was a difficult task to filter through the suggestions as so many of them were great.”

Her proud mum Hannah Downing said: “Ella-May is so chuffed. She loves meerkats and came up with these names on her own.

“She has such a vivid imagination for a six-year-old and is such a little character.”