Stolen sheep rescued as police chase ends with ewe-sual suspect hiding up a tree

The woolly back-seat passengers were spotted being driven in a Ford Galaxy along Hob Moor Road, in the Yardley area of Birmingham, in the early hours of this morning.

The vehicle tried making off but moments later rammed into a parked car in Rosedale Road where three men leapt from the Galaxy and fled.

West Midlands Police units ? including a dog handler and the police helicopter ? flocked to the scene in a bid to find the suspects.

They were spotted hiding in nearby gardens, including one up a tree and another who'd sneaked into a conservatory. They were all herded into a police van.

The men, Romanian nationals aged 22, 27 and 28, are currently in police custody on suspicion of theft.

The lambs were recovered unhurt from the vehicle. Officers carried them out of the people carrier before transporting them safely.

They have been temporarily re-homed on a farm in Sheldon while police make enquiries with farmers in the region.

Inspector Paul Southern said: "It's not every day we recover live stolen property, but the lambs seem none the worse for their adventure.

"We are now trying to trace where they came from and are asking farmers to check their flocks to see if they have any missing."

The news comes after 57 pregnant ewes were stolen from a farm in Perton earlier this year. The premises, on Bridgnorth Road was targeted on March 30 and 31.

Officers from Staffordshire Police's wildlife and countryside protection group took to social media to seek assistance in finding the animals.

And in April, 450 Cheviot sheep, worth £60,000, were reported stolen from a hill farm in the Moffat area of Scotland.

Around 80,000 sheep are stolen every year from farms across the UK. The so-called 'sheep-rustling' costs farmers more than £6.5 million a year.

Anyone with information on the Birmingham thefts should call police on 101 to help trace the owner of the sheep.