A Harwell couple are overwhelmed with offers of homes for their pedigree Shetland sheep.

Michael and Pauline Lay were surprised at the level of public interest when they launched an unlikely appeal - homes for more than 300 sheep, which they were giving away free.

Former farmer Mr Lay, 62, of Townsend, Harwell, said they initially bought two of the rare breed Shetland sheep "to keep the grass down" in a paddock at the back of the house 12 years ago.

Since then the sheep have bred and there are now 320 in the flock, including more than 100 lambs born after Christmas.

The sheep, which are usually reared for the quality of their multi-coloured wool, have become personal pets - especially for Mrs Lay, 63, who said many answer to their names.

The couple decided to find new homes for the animals after Mr Lay suffered back problems and because of the rising cost of food.

Mrs Lay said the response to their appeal, publicised in the Oxford Mail, had been enormous with farmers calling from as far away as Gloucestershire.

The Lays' flock is free from foot and mouth disease, but Mrs Lay said: "While we have made arrangements for new homes for groups of 20 sheep, which will be taken to different farmers, they cannot be moved until foot and mouth restrictions are totally lifted."

**Mr and Mrs Lay are holding a fete in the half-acre gardens of their home, Mulberry House, Townsend, on Saturday, July 7, at 2pm in aid of the Radcliffe Medical Foundation's Transplant Unit at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford.

Former transplant patient Mrs Lay said the money was urgently needed to extend the unit to offer more facilities to transplant patients.

There will be a range of stalls and attractions including a raffle.