A little lost lamb has been reunited with her mum - thanks to the rugby skills of an off-duty RSPCA inspector.

Keith Hogben was taking his daily exercise near Whitland when he spotted the woolly youngster in the middle of a country lane.

Western Telegraph:

The mother could be heard crying nearby but was unable to reach the lamb.

A passing car then frightened the baby further and she retreated into a nearby hedgerow.

Although Inspector Hogben is a football fan, he switched sports to perform an impressive rugby tackle and rescue the panic-stricken lamb.

The inspector and his partner - fellow RSPCA inspector Ellie West - put his beanie hat over the head of the lamb to keep her calm, before returning her to a field.

Heart-warming video footage taken by Ellie shows the moment the lamb - now back in the field - looks for her mother, before finding her, completing the happy ending.

Inspector Hogben said: "There are always animals in need of assistance, and when on our daily exercise, we suddenly came across this petrified lamb who had become stranded from her mother.

"The lamb's mother was calling frantically in a nearby field, but had no way to reach her baby. Fortunately, even though I'm a Charlton Athletic fan, I was able to swap sports and put some rugby skills to good use, securely tackling the lost lamb, before returning her to the field where her mother was.

“She was understandably a very scared and confused lamb - but she calmed down after we popped my beanie hat over her head.

"It was then just amazing to see the lamb search for and quickly find her mother - and certainly made our daily walk a lot more exciting than expected.

"While we were fortunate enough to be able to help this sheep out in our free time, the RSPCA is still on the frontline during the Covid-19 crisis.

"We'd urge anyone concerned who thinks an animal is in an emergency situation to contact us on 0300 1234 999.

"Animal cruelty won't stop for coronavirus, so we're asking our supporters to donate what they can to help keep us on the road."

Visit rspca.org.uk/coronavirus for advice, information and support.