Absolute ewe-nit! Huge newborn lamb shocks farmer

Absolute ewe-nit! Farmer Meilir Jones says one of his ewes gave birth to a lamb weighing 16kg (35lb)

A farmer said he had seen "nothing like it before" when one of his ewes gave birth to a lamb weighing 16kg (35lb).

Meilir Jones, from Powys, helped with the birth on his farm in Llangadfan, near Oswestry, on Sunday.

The animal is over three times the size of a regular lamb.

Guinness World Records said it did not record the weight of lambs and so could not confirm whether the animal had broken any records.

Mr Jones said he noticed the ewe starting to lamb and realised it needed some help.

“I just put my hand in the sheep and started to feel this lamb and thought ‘there's enough room for it to come out'," he told Radio Cymru's Agricultural Bulletin.

"I was confident it was going to be a safe delivery.

“I started pulling and pulling and pulling, and it came out like a big lump.

“I weighed him and the clock said 16kg… massive.”

A regular-sized lamb is about 5kg (11lb).

'Record for me'

Mr Jones said he had heard of an 11kg (24lb) lamb being born in Wales a few years ago, but had never seen anything like this.

He added that he was shocked that the sheep “was hiding this big lamb inside”.

“I’ve had big lambs before, but nothing like this little guy," he said.

“It’s a record for me.”

He said he was also grateful that nothing went wrong.

“The sheep and the lamb are alive and that’s the most important thing,” he said.

Mr Jones said he and his family were thinking of a name for the animal.

“I have a few names popping up in my head, something that will match the lamb’s personality. I think something like Rocky maybe?”