Lambs dying of cold in bitter Shropshire spring weather

Having faced last summer's unprecedented wet weather, and the increasing spread of the Schmallenberg disease which causes deformities in lambs, the county's sheep farmers are now facing unexpectedly cold weather at a time when lambs are being born.

Farmers today revealed they are being forced to work all hours to try to keep stranded flocks alive.

John Parry has a farm near Albrighton, and has managed to ensure his flock has been lambing indoors.

But he says he has still suffered major problems, adding: "The wind has been that strong that snow has been blowing horizontally through the sheds and there's no grass to turn them out to.

"Fortunately I have been able to manage them inside so I haven't lost all that many, but it has been a lot of extra work. A lot of people I spoke to at market have been struggling to get through their fields to the flocks."

Worse could still be to come, Mr Parry warned, because of the lack of grass after the combined wet summer and long winter.

He said: "Sheep are good at living off their own fat reserves, but it makes them very thin going into the spring, and that could be a real problem come the end of April.

"When lambs get to about five weeks old and haven't the body condition they can develop calcium deficiencies, and when they get hungry they can start biting at the teat. It's an ongoing problem.

"There's a great deal of concern about how the grass will recover."

NFU vice-president Adam Quinney has said the freezing weather 'could not have come at a worse time'.

He described farmers as 'exhausted' by the mounting crises, and Mr Parry said the added workload and constant worry was tiring.

More events fell foul of the weather today. A point to point at Brampton Bryan Hall, near Leintwardine, has been cancelled, with organisers saying they will announce a new time and date as soon as it is available.

A National Garden Schemes opening at Preen Manor, near Much Wenlock, and Radnor Cottage, in Clun, on April 1 and 2 have also been cancelled.

Chirk Marina, in Chirk near Oswestry, hasn't escaped the snowy conditions, with boats listing in the icy water because of accumulations of snow.

Leighton Jones, from the marina, said he had gone out to check and everything was safe.

He said: "All the pontoon staging is still floating, it is weighed down.

"One boat has gone down under the weight of the snow. We have removed the weight of the snow and it is not listing as badly as it was."

He said it is common for weather conditions to weigh down boats but this is normally due to heavy rainfall, not snow.

"The snow here is bad and has caused some boats to list. But it is still safe for people to walk around the marina."

A plea for people to keep an eye on elderly relatives in Oswestry was made today by Councillor Gareth Jones.

The councillor and member of the Oswestry Senior Citizens club said that many elderly people were scared to venture out.

"We still have a foot of snow in many residential areas of the town," he said.

"I would urge those who have elderly neighbours just to make sure they are not running out of supplies like bread and milk and they are coping with the cold."

Councillor Jones said that events at the Senior Citizens' Club in Lorne Street, Oswestry, had been cancelled until April 1 because of the weather.

Elderly and disabled people have been forced to dig themselves out of the snow in Oswestry.

Sarah Wilcox, 58, who describes herself as 'very disabled', lives in Harlech Court, which is made up of a community of bungalows and a large block of flats for elderly and disabled people.

Ms Wilcox said despite paying maintenance costs no one from Equity Housing Association, who run the homes, would help clear the areas around their homes because of legal reasons.

A team of volunteers arrived after hearing about their plight and cleared the snow.

A spokesman for the housing association said: "We appreciate that the recent heavy snow has caused disruption and inconvenience to customers in a number of areas, and we are sorry to learn about the problems caused by the snow to our customers who live at Harlech Court in Oswestry.

"With around 4,800 properties under our management, it isn't possible for us to provide this service to all our customers."