Police give paint to residents invaded by stray sheep on housing estate

Residents on a housing estate who say they are at their “wits end” after being invaded by flocks of sheep have been given pots of paint to identify them. Flocks of up to seven sheep have been leaving a trail of dung and ravaged flowers in their wake on the Weavers Dene estate in Helmshore, Lancashire. Residents say the woolly intruders are a nuisance and have asked for help to get the issue resolved.

Susan Molineux said: “We have been here for 12 months and we cannot put any plants out the front. They eat everything and leave general mess all over the footpaths and pavement. It has been affecting everyone. It was funny and a bit of a novelty at first, but it’s happening quite often. It’s not nice for kids going to school.” Susan’s husband Steve added: “I saw them at 3am in the middle of the road, it was like five or six lads going home after a Friday night out. It’s a delicate situation as it’s not clear whose sheep they are.”



Andrew Houldsworth, 35, said: “I’m at my wits end. I have spoken to the county council, police, developers and MP about this and it seems nothing can be done. This can’t be the first issue of its kind in the county and therefore there must be solutions available. The time for investigation has passed. We cannot sit and watch night after night until they come again. This cannot continue.” Andrew said that the residents would ‘persevere’ until the issue was resolved.

Rosemary Johns, 38, said: “We have been living here for two years and it has not always been a problem, but over the last 12 months it has got a lot worse. “They come in the middle of the night and in the morning there are sheep droppings on the pavement. It was funny at first, but when you’re wheeling a pram through it all it’s not a joke. “We would just like whoever owns the sheep to keep them on their land.” Lancashire Police has provided residents with paint and instructed them to paint the sheep in order to identify them and their owner.