Birth of twin lambs 'a Christmas miracle' for farm

Farmers have hailed a "Christmas miracle" after a "virgin" ewe gave birth to twin lambs.

The lambs' mother, Shirley, had shown no sign of mating with a ram and a routine ultrasound scan came back negative.

So staff at White Post Farm in Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, were surprised to find the two newborns when they turned up to work on Wednesday morning.

Spokesman Anthony Moore said: "It is a Christmas miracle.

"The ewe hadn't been marked and the ultrasound was negative so it was a surprise to everyone."

The ram has a crayon strapped to his chest so farmers know which ewes could soon be expecting but two attempts to get Shirley pregnant appeared to have been fruitless.

Mr Moore said: "There was no evidence she was pregnant so it was pretty unusual. Both lambs are doing really well."