THERE was very little silence among the lambs this week as lambing season got underway.

Northington Farm in Overton was alive with the sound of bleating twins and triplets whose cries gave farmer James Crosbie-Dawson some much-needed cheer after all the troubles over the past 12 months.

The farm was opened to the public at the weekend to help deliver a cash boost for the NSPCC as visitors paid to see and handle the new arrivals.

Alexandria Haines, five, from Overton, looked delighted as she clutched a new-born lamb to her chest in the pens which separated the heavily pregnant ewes from the rest.

"They were small and cuddly," said Harry Winter, four, from Basingstoke, who was also with his family visiting the farm.

Mr Crosbie-Dawson, who works the 1,800-acre farm containing dairy cattle and arable land which he took over in 1996, declared this year has been much better than last year as the farming industry recovers from the foot-and-mouth crisis.

He explained: "Last year we were not allowed to move the sheep for grazing so we had to use a neighbour's land."

The weekend event raised £470.66 for the children's charity.