THE movement problems brought about by foot and mouth has resulted in a top Hereford bull finding a new home in the county.

Originally sold in February, for use by the Ritch family of Stromness in Orkney, the bull Westwood Sirius is now at the oldest home of the breed at the Leen Farm, Pembridge.

Foot-and-mouth movement restrictions meant that the two-year-old bull was unable to travel north from his breeders R T Davies and Co's Westwood herd, based at Mamble, and so he has joined the Leen herd, run by Frank Smith and his family.

The farm, now managed by daughter Barbara, son-in-law Tony Norman and their sons maintains the world's oldest Hereford herd, founded in 1780. As well as the pedigrees, the Leen runs a 150-cow dairy herd and also grows vegetables.

The entire 500-acre farm has been converted to organic status and much effort is now being put into improving the marketing of produce, particularly in the direction of direct sales. The bull recently weighed in at 950 kgs in pasture condition, and is described as showing outstanding strength and conformation.

He is sired by the noted Irish-bred sire Oxhill Laurence and his dam is Westwood Laura 304th, a first prize winner of the cow class at a previous Kington Show, and sired by the highly-successful Sugwas Benjamin, bred by the Morgan-Jones family of Hereford.