A five-legged lamb nicknamed ‘Fiver’ was saved from the dinner table thanks to a one-in-a-million extra limb.
Fiver caused quite a stir when she was born on Andrew Bell’s farm near York.
But shortly after she took her first wobbly steps – the lamb appeared destined for the knife.
Fiver the lamb, before her surgery, with vets Katy Bell and Julian Norton, star of Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet
Thankfully for Fiver it was the vet’s scalpel rather than the butcher’s blade.
Mr Bell’s vet daughter, Katy, helped deliver Fiver and said neither she or her father had ever seen a lamb like her before.
She said: ‘We think the most likely reasons for being born with an extra limb could be that she was trying to form into a conjoined twin in the womb and didn’t get very far.’
Ms Bell brought the family’s miracle lamb to colleague Julian Norton, the star of Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet.
Fiver’s extra limb (pictured) was making it hard for the lamb to feed, so Mr Norton decided to amputate
Fiver (pictured, after her operation) spent just 20 minutes under the knife and has since made a full recovery
Mr Norton amputated Fiver’s extra leg as it was making it hard for her to feed.
Told the Sun: ‘We didn’t want her under unaesthetic for too long and so got the operation done within 20 minutes, it was a little touch and go but Fiver came through it and it was a success.
‘Within a few hours she was back with her mum in the fields having fun like nothing had happened, we feel very privileged to have experienced such a rare occurrence.’
Animal lover Wendy Youll could not bear the idea of Fiver (second left, after her operation) being farmed out and offered up her home
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this was certainly the case when Wendy Youll spotted Fiver.
The animal lover could not bear the idea of the lamb being farmed out and offered up her home.
She said: ‘I immediately wanted to give her a forever home, she is such an amazing creature and I didn’t want her ending up on someone’s dinner plate.’
The Yorkshire Vet: A 5 Legged Lamb & Other Curious Creatures will air on Channel 5 at 8pm on Tuesday.