A SURPRISE delivery has delighted pupils and staff at a college science department.

A ewe, which belongs to Sedgefield Community College, has given birth to two lambs - a very rare occurrence for September.

And the happy event has won a reprieve for the sheep which has now become a firm favourite at the college.

It experienced problems with a dog worrying the sheep last December.

As a result, eight lambs were born dead and two ewes died during lambing time in February and March this year.

Gerard Lennox, rural science technician at the college, said one of the ewes which gave birth to two dead lambs was placed with a male, called a tup, for protection.

He said: "The tup has caught her again, which is very unusual and something we've never heard of.

"She gave birth on Saturday to two beautiful lambs and we never even knew she was pregnant."

He added: "She and some of the other ewes were earmarked to go away, but we've now been told we can keep her, so she's been reprieved.

"We raised her ourselves from a lamb. She's a special old girl, and now she's going to live here until she pops her clogs."

The college also keeps pigs, hens, geese, rabbits, a mouse and a chinchilla and the children help out once a week.

Mr Lennox said the birth had delighted everyone, adding: "Everybody is over the moon.

"We've got an Ofsted inspection this week and she's made everybody in the science department very happy and a lot more relaxed about it."