THERE must be some irony in the fact a farmer named Bullock has a top flock of sheep, but the system obviously works.

Because, for the sixth year running, Marcus and Kathryn Bullock of Bank Farm, Abberley, have won the Midlands Area Lleyn Flock Society Championship.

This makes their sheep the best collection of Lleyns across a wide swathe of the country, stretching from Herefordshire to Leicestershire with more than 20 flocks coming under the judges' scrutiny.

Incidentally, you pronounce the breed 'theen' and it has made a remarkable recovery after nearly sinking into extinction in the middle of the 20th Century.

"Thirty-five years ago it was a rare breed," said Marcus, "but now it is expanding faster than any other.

"Before the Second World War, the Lleyn was the fifth largest breed in Wales, but then it rather went out of fashion.

"The way the subsidy system was arranged in the 1970s didn't particularly encourage the Lleyn and there were only a handful of pure breeders left. But now, with agricultural labour harder to come by and when one shepherd may have to look after 1,000 sheep, its ease of management is being appreciated again."

The Lleyn suits the demands of modern shepherding and often lambs standing, the newborn hitting the ground with a bump that livens them up like the midwife's slap on a baby.

Farming skipped a generation in Marcus's family, for although both sets of grandparents were farmers, his father was a military man.

However, he went to Harper Adams agricultural college, which was where his enthusiasm for the Lleyn began.

"I came across the work of Professor Owen of Bangor who was a great supporter of the Lleyn," said Marcus, "and ended up completing a degree thesis based on his work.

"The Lleyn is a native breed to North Wales and originated on the Lleyn Peninsular, which is a pretty rugged part of the country. It produces very thrifty ewes with good milking and mothering qualities and natural longevity."

He began farming on a rented property at Great Witley in 1988 and bought his Lleyn foundation stock, before acquiring Bank Farm in the early 1990s.

Now the Bullocks run a flock of around 450 ewes and keep only the very best of their ram lambs to breed from.

Despite their clean-up of the Lleyn flock championships, you won't find the Bank Farm Lleyns being paraded in the show ring.

"I haven't got the time or the inclination to show individual animals," Marcus explained.

"When people come here I want them to see a good, even flock that looks healthy and, if possible, as alike as two peas in a pod. We don't have lame sheep and we don't have sorry-looking sheep.

"I don't think you can judge the quality of a flock by taking out individual animals. That's why I prefer the flock competitions.

"Judging animals is always very subjective and down to individual preferences, but I suppose we must be doing something right, because we have been successful with six different sets of judges from all parts of the country."

Marcus is a past chairman of the Lleyn Sheep Society, which was formed in 1970 with only a handful of members.

Today the total is more than 700 and rising.

Which can't be bad.