A farmer who thought thought their sheep had been stolen had a happy surprise when the sheep were found on the local golf course.

The police were told that 38 sheep were missing in the Abbots Leigh area of North Somerset on Monday, January 11.

They sent a message through the Farmwatch network and within the hour, a nearby farmer told them that he'd seen the sheep.

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: "A message went out via our Farmwatch scheme to alert the rural community about what happened and within an hour we received a message from a second farmer to say he'd seen the sheep at a golf course nearby and they had already been returned to the rightful owner."

This is a good example of Farmwatch in action and police are encouraging all farmers who are not yet part of the scheme to sign up via the website avonandsomerset.police.uk/apply/farm-watch.