SPRING has arrived early at a Bolton farm with the birth of lambs a full month before they were expected.

The event thrilled farmer Arnold Davenport-- but it was also tinged with a note of sadness.

For it could be the last lambing season Mr Davenport spends at Nab Gate Farm in Stitch-mi-Lane, Harwood.

He is conducting a long-running fight against an eviction order. But his troubles were forgotten for the moment when one of his ewes went into labour one month early.

The twin lambs she gave birth to were so small that Mr Davenport had to keep them warm by carefully placing them in the bottom of the Aga in his kitchen -- and then lovingly feeding them with a bottle. He said: "I thought it was going to be a still birth at first because they came a month before their time.

"Putting them in the bottom of the Aga was a one-off.

"They are doing much better now. They are much bigger."

"They really are survivors."

Mr Davenport has been served notice of eviction by landowner Chris Holt, who wants possession of the historic farm.

In December, Mr Davenport won a court battle when a judge refused to send him to jail for defying bailiffs who had tried to evict him from the farm last summer.

Mr Davenport is now waiting to see if he will have to face further court proceedings as he fights to stay at the farm.

Harwood Action Group has been set up to raise funds to help the farmer pay legal bills.