A SOUTH Lakes farming family has made sheep show history at the Royal Welsh Show.

John and Charles Geldard, of Low Foulshaw, Levens, achieved a host of honours for their Lleyn sheep last week - but their greatest triumph was lifting the Gwilym Williams Perpetual Memorial Trophy.

This honour goes to the exhibitor gaining the highest number of points in the Lleyn Sheep Section - and it is the first time the trophy has been won by someone outside Wales.

The Geldards scooped a host of trophies in the Lleyn breed's original homeland.

They took the championship prize with a homebred shearling ram and reserve championship with a homebred ewe.

The success comes just a month after the Geldards won the championship in the Lleyn classes at the Royal Highland Show.

A spokesman for the Lleyn Sheep Society said: "The society congratulates the family on their success in the show ring this year. They have always presented high quality stock hence these awards are well deserved."

Charles Geldard said: "I am absolutely delighted with our achievement. We enter the Royal Welsh Show every year but have never done as well as this."

Lleyn sheep are a breed of sheep from the Ll?n peninsula, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. They are bred for prolificacy, good mothering, quiet in nature, high milk yield and excellent for white wool. They are suited to both upland and lowland grazing.

The Geldards keep 1,000 Lleyns in their flock, which they started around 25 years ago.