A LAMB called Freckle has been adopted by a carehome to give residents the joy of looking after baby animals.

Residents at Raby Cottage, which is run by Bondcare at The Willington Care Village, receive regular visits from Freckle as well as some of his other four-legged friends.

Toffee, an eight year old working Cocker Spaniel and her puppy, Sky, kept the residents company for the afternoon, while Freckle has a special pen of her own at the home.

Freckle, who is brought to the home by Deborah Foster, was adopted to celebrate Dementia Awareness Week.

Julie Gray, manager at Raby Cottage, said: “Our residents really enjoy the visits from the animals, especially the companionship and interaction that they bring, which is known to have a soothing and comforting effect.

“Although our residents have learning difficulties, other residents at the Care Village are living with dementia, so we wanted to do something special to show our support to them.

“We decided that adopting Freckle was a fantastic way to mark Dementia Awareness Week.

“Caring for Freckle means that our residents have that little bit more independence and responsibility and fitted perfectly with our aim for Dementia Awareness Week, which was to remember the person behind the condition.”