A FARMER has spoken of his surprise following the birth of a lamb.

The boy lamb, also known as a Tup, was born at Lane End Farm, Tong, on Wednesday.

He was born to one of 143 Soay sheep bought by farm owner Martin Hare. Soay is a rare type of domestic sheep descended from a population of feral sheep on the 250-acre island, 40 miles from the Western Isles of Scotland.

The farm’s new addition will be named after a competition at the Tong Lane shop tomorrow. Visitors will be asked to submit their suggestions for a name of the lamb in the farm’s shop between 9am and 3pm, with the winner announced on the same day.

Mr Hare said: “It was quite a surprise to us. I did not know she was pregnant when I bought the sheep.

“It’s quite unusual to lamb at this time of year. The lamb is already bounding about, but his mother is a bit weak at the moment as she should not be in lamb.

“They are quite an unusual type of sheep. They are brown coloured and have horns. People have thought that they were goats.”