A woolly wanderer who got herself into a baa-d situation has been rescued from cliffs near the Castlemartin Range, St Govans.

A specialist RSPCA rope team was dispatched after the ewe became stranded, straying too far down the cliffside.

The sheep had been stranded for a few weeks but luckily was on a grassy slope area so had access to grazing. There had been another two ewes trapped there but as they had been higher up, they had managed to escape the cliff face themselves.

An eight-strong RSPCA team including officers from Wales, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, West Midlands and Sussex came to the animal’s aid.

“We assessed the situation and could clearly see that the ewe was not going to get back up the cliff on her own,” said Gemma Cooper, who is deputy chief inspector for the Mid and West Wales RSPCA inspectorate group.

“However, due to the location of the sheep - being on Ministry of Defence land as there is a live firing range nearby - we were only able to access the area on certain days to assess and to plan the rescue.

“We subsequently brought together our specially trained officers that we can draw from across England and Wales to undertake the rescue and carried out the rescue successfully.

“The sheep was unharmed and released at the top of the cliff on hard land. The shepherd was in attendance too.”

It is not known how the ewe ended up on such dangerous terrain, although it is not unusual for sheep to graze on cliff tops.

However, the RSPCA would like to remind dog owners they need to consider livestock and keep their pets on leads and check for farm animals in fields.

Dogs can give chase to livestock and the RSPCA is called out to many rescues in which sheep become trapped in precarious situations as they try to escape.

“The RSPCA’s rescue teams will be out in all weathers this year conducting rescue operations in situations like this,” said a charity spokesperson. “As well as rescuing animals from abuse, neglect and suffering.”