Lamb coats

A Yorkshire Dales farmer has come up with a novel way of protecting his lambs from the cold weather - cagoules.

John Garnett of Kelker, near Skipton, wanted to move his lambs from their crowded indoor pens to the fields.

But he was concerned that some could perish as temperatures have recently plummeted below freezing.

The answer came in the shape of plastic coats which give the lambs enough extra insulation to ensure they can survive the cold outdoors of North Yorkshire.

Mr Garnett said: "Well, the lambs seem to like them and the sheep don't seem to be bothered. It keeps the bad weather off them. The farm buildings are filling up with sheep and lambs so we needed to get some out into the fields. They were fairly young and we had heard about these jackets so we thought we would give them a try."

As well as protecting the lambs from the elements the jackets have an added advantage - foxes seem to be bemused by them and stay away.