AN unusual method of teaching farmers how to deliver a lamb was revealed at a North Yorkshire farm yesterday.

The Practical Lambing Skills course at Lovesome Hill Farm, near Northallerton, used a specially designed box - with a prosthetic sheep womb - to prepare farmers for real-life deliveries.

The course is one of several in the area to be run by the Ministry of Agriculture's vocational training scheme.

Other course subjects range from traditional skills, such as hedgelaying and drystone walling, to using computer-based accounting packages and databases to keep track of stock.