WHILE two families were celebrating new babies being born on Christmas Day in Powys, another county couple were celebrating the arrival of twins.

Except, the two surprise arrivals for Cefn Coch farmers Clive and Bev Jones weren’t babies – they were lambs.

Imagine his surprise when farmer Clive went to check his flock on Christmas morning and found one of his two-year-old ewes had given birth to twin lambs during the night.

“My lambing season starts in early March, so I'm not sure how this cheeky ewe managed to conceive at the end of July, it's a mystery,” said Clive, who farms at Lletty Gwilym.

Clive is keeping a close eye on his ewes from now on, hoping none of the others give him a festive fright.

Wife Bev said Clive really wanted to share the story and to bring a bit of joy in complex times.

“The lambs are doing really well. They are in small paddock behind the house,” said Bev.

“We brought them closer to the house to avoid an attack from foxes or badgers.”

Spring is prime time for lambing, with farmers working all hours of the day to welcome their new arrivals into the world – usually from February onwards.

The sight of lambs scampering around the fields of Powys as they get used to and play in their new surroundings, and the sounds of bleeting as their mums keep a watchful eye, is a heart-warming sign of winter coming to a close and the arrival of the warmer weather, representing new beginnings and the end of the long, dark nights.

Some ewes do give birth in January but December births are much less common.

Bev added: “In some parts of the UK lambs do arrive in January, but rarely December. The rams are taken out of the herd at the end of July to avoid conception, but conception occurred about July 25.

“It shows that nature is very clever. Normally, ewes are fed more for a few weeks before giving birth, and brought into the lambing shed. None of this happened. Once she had the lambs we fed her ram food to keep her strength up and help her milk production.”

Despite the unexpected arrival of additional Christmas treats on their farm, Bev said she and Clive have resisted the urge to give the duo festive names.

“No, we don't name them, it makes it harder to send them to market,” she said.