CHRIS Brass, from Low Broomflat Farm, Chop Gate, has just helped a ewe to give birth to six healthy lambs.

Is this a record? The Brass family has more than 500 sheep on their farm and Bill Brass, who has farmed all his life, says he has never had a ewe with six lambs before.

His son, Chris, was walking round the fields, checking the sheep and lambs on bank holiday Monday, and at 2.30 was about to leave the field when he saw a ewe just starting to give birth.

He decided to stay with her and was amazed to find that she kept producing more and more lambs, until with a little help there were six lambs at her feet.

This is the second year of lambing for this young Mule ewe, who was put to a Texel tup.

Last year, there were two lots of quads born to sheep on the farm, but sextuplets are quite extraordinary.

Mr Brass's children, Kessie and Jack, have been helping to bottle feed some of them