Birchwood High School boy Jacob Ward finds five-leaf clover – and then pink grasshopper in cemetery

If schoolboy Jacob Ward felt lucky after a one-in-a-million playground discovery, weeks later he was truly in the pink!

The 12-year-old had decided to try to find a rare four-leaf clover while at lunch in the playground of Birchwood High School in Parsonage Lane, Bishop’s Stortford – and after a long search he couldn’t believe what he found.

“I was looking for ages, searching in a hurry because the bell was about to ring,” said Jacob. “Literally, five minutes before the bell rang I saw something in a small clover bunch. It was a five-leaf clover! I was so excited and surprised.”

He showed it to his amazed mum Milly Manson, and after she gave Jacob a bug enclosure to encourage his love of insects, a trip to Bishop’s Stortford Cemetery four weeks later searching for grasshoppers produced another discovery.

“There were thousands and I got loads,” said Jacob. “Half an hour passed and I was looking in the long grass all around the graveyard and I saw something pink jump out at me and it really scared me. I had a closer look and it was revealed to be a pink grasshopper.”

Jacob added: “I’ve never seen anything like it, so I put him in his enclosure and named him Pinky Pie.”

It is estimated you have a one in 10,000 chance of finding a four-leaf clover, while it’s one in a million for five-leaf versions.

Indie Nature Notes columnist Jono Forgham believed Jacob’s cemetery find was a field grasshopper, adding that several grasshopper species can be variable in colour, ranging from vibrant green through to this pink variation, via browns, oranges and darker greens.