A FLOCK of sheep have unwittingly acted as eco-warriors by munching their way through acres of meadow near a forest.

The flock of Suffolk cross sheep were used as part of a scheme by the Forestry Commission and English Nature to keep grass on the 25-acre Low Redford Meadows, near Hamsterley Forest, in County Durham, at the ideal length and destroy weeds.

The meadows are home to more than 100 different species of flowers, which attract insects and birds each spring, but to get rid of weeds and help the sun germinate seeds the sheep have grazed on the land since August.