Name a lamb

Fancy naming a lamb – and raising money for a cancer charity?

The annual fundraiser is in aid of the Christie’s support centre Maggie’s and in three previous years has collected nearly £15,000.

For a minimum donation of £5 you can chose a name for one of around 500 lambs and have it sprayed on its coat in non-toxic colour.

Previous years have seen a lamb named ‘Lamb-orghini’.

The people responsible are Helen and Stephen Sheldon, whose Adlington farm the lambs will be born at, and Chris and Carolyn Thompson, who describe themselves as ‘hobby farmers’.

Chris, 59, said: “We can have all sorts of wild and wacky names. Some have been named after the five members of Take That.”

“Others can be named after children or grandchildren and sometimes heart rendering names that are after a lost loved one are chosen. The event has proved very popular and we have been inundated once again with requests to run it this year.”

Chris and his family have used the Maggie’s Centre, which provides practical and emotional support, after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012.

Lambing – and therefore naming – season takes place from towards the end of February until May.

The fundraiser began in 2016 when a man contacted Sugar Lane Farm, between Adlington and Bollington, to ask if a lamb could be named after his grandchild.

It sparked the idea to do this on a large scale for charity.

Chris, from Bollington, said: “It causes a lot of fun in the community and I think there is a lot of community spirit in the Bollington area.

“Also, everyone has been affected by cancer to some degree, whether it be themselves or a friend or relative.”

The spray used is the same one farmers have to mark sheep to ensure lambs can be reunited with their mother should they get lost.

A photo of any lamb named will be published on the Name the Lamb Facebook group and emailed to the sponsor.

Further donations can be made by visiting https:// www.justgiving.com/Chris-Thompson56 .