A GROUP of five nanny goats have got their hooves full after almost simultaneously bringing no less than five sets of twins into the World.

Blame for the multiple births among the pygmy goats at Dick Whittington Farm Park near Longhope is being put squarely on an over-active billy-goat aptly called Rascal.

Park owner, Chris Turney said: "We're all in a state of shock. The farm animal babies don't normally arrive until Easter. It would appear our billy-goat must have got in with the girls a few weeks ago for this to happen.

"It is certainly an early Christmas present for the farm park and for our visitors. We are bottle feeding one or two of the smaller babies and it is creating a real buzz, not only among the staff, but the mothers and young children who are visiting us."

The twins were all born over just three days, and while it's not unusual for occasional sets of twins to be born, it is something of a record to five sets to arrive in one go. The births probably more than double the number of pygmy goats in the area – they're quite rare, with some of the mothers coming from off the rocks at Lands End, while Rascal came from a farm in the Fens.