THERE were some very puzzled expressions on the faces of locals as they went about their business on the streets of Alton half a century ago, back in June 1965. Heads would turn to do a double take and eyebrows would invariably be raised whenever Deeni Carrington-Buck, the attractive 19-year-old publican’s daughter, took a stroll through the town.

However it wasn’t necessarily Deeni’s good looks that would attract the admiring glances because stepping sprightly behind to follow the teenagers every move would be Emma... Deeni’s pet lamb. In fact, Emma became quite a familiar sight in the town as Emma insisted on going almost everywhere with her owner, whose parents, Mr and Mrs. Stanley Carrington-Buck, ran the Wheatsheaf pub in Market Square at the time.

In an interview with the Echo, Deeni explained that the lamb was a present to her from a former boy friend who gave it to her to compensate in some way for the pets she had to leave behind when her parents returned to England a few months ago from South Africa. But poor little Emma had unwittingly been the cause of three broken romances in the weeks that followed, prompting Deeni to insists that all dates from now on should be a threesome to include Emma or nothing at all. Her first boyfriend decided to call it a day and end the relationship because of this and Deeni’s following two boyfriends suffered a similar fate after coming off second best to young Emma. “The lamb comes before any boy” admits Deeni.

The Echo report also revealed how Emma led a rather exciting lifestyle for one so young. She wouldn't say no to a drop of beer now and then, and would also be known to enjoy a bit of a jig when she heard the Rolling Stones. Emma's wardrobe consisted of four pairs of rubber pants and a red collar and bell. But most of all she liked her feeding bottle and enjoyed nothing more than settling down with a bottle of goat's milk from the local farm. "The first three weeks I had her," said Deeni, fondly cradling the lamb like a child, "I used to get up twice a night to feed her." The only time the pair were not together was when Deeni, who hoped to eventually go to drama school, was attending a secretarial college at Farnborough. Then Emma is turned out to graze in a field.

Despite differences of opinions with Deeni’s boyfriends, the lamb was on the best of terns with the other household pets, Cindy the dog, and Sam the rabbit. “Emma generally sleeps with the rabbit” said the proud owner of these pets. “but sometimes they have a bit of a tussle to decide who is going to sleep on which side of the bed.”