A EWE has given birth to seven lambs at a vets in Builth Wells.

And it was love at first site for Popeye, the lleyn ewe who gave birth to the septuplets on Valentine’s Day at Derw Veterinary Surgeons on Garth Road.

Unfortunately the first lamb to be delivered was stillborn and another two died after they returned home to Llanerchcoedlan Farm in Erwood with their mum.

Popeye is the pet of sheep farmers Vicki, 64, and John Phillips, 81, and is so named because she has one bad eye.

Vicki said: “We definitely weren’t expecting that many. It was a very big surprise.

“My husband came back from the vets and he was absolutely beaming.

“Normally a lleyn ewe will only have two or three lambs, usually two. It’s rare to get four or five lambs, so to get seven – it’s just unheard of. It’s extremely rare. We’ve never known of this happening before.”

Popeye was taken to the vets last Thursday morning as she was having difficulty in labour.

John had gone to check on the ewe in the morning to discover she had started to give birth.

Vicki said: “It was Thursday morning and my husband had gone to check on her (Popeye).

“When he found her, she had what was either a tail or a foot showing and he decided to take her to the vets. It was about 11.30am when the vet actually pulled the lambs out. The vet was just as shocked as my husband was.”

The farmer said they’re very proud of their pet sheep which has given birth to “good lambs” in the past.

She said: “She’s always given us good lambs but she’s really done us proud this year.”

Popeye is doing well since the colossal birth however only two of the lambs are being kept with her while the other two are being bottle fed.

The farmers are unsure of what will happen to the four tiny lambs, which are only one week old, as they are still so young.

Vicki said: “I have no idea what we’ll do with them yet. The remaining four seem to be doing well and healthy. It depends on how they’re doing in terms of what we decide to do with them. They’re too small to tell at the moment. It is a shame about the others, but it is always hard to tell with young lambs.”

Vicki said the vets also commented that they had never seen anything quite like it before either.

Nichola Rolinson of Derw was the vet who helped Popeye to deliver the lambs. She said: “It was just a complete surprise. She was a large ewe and she looked like she was probably carrying two or three. I pulled the first three and we’re always taught to go back and check after each one. I put my hand back in and I could feel there was another one.

“Our eyes just kept growing wider and wider as they kept coming. Many years ago I pulled six lambs, but in most cases it’s up to five so seven really is quite extraordinary. I’m not sure if there’s a record out there, but if there is it must be quite high up.”

While there’s no official record, the British record for the most lambs born in one litter is eight by a ewe in Devon in 2015.

With only a one in a million chance of a ewe giving birth to seven lambs, it is thought Popeye probably holds the Welsh record.