A POSTWOMAN who jumped into a field to save a sheep had the shock of her life when the rest of the flock turned on her.
Animal-lover Kelly Tullett was on her rounds in Hurstpierpoint when she saw a sheep lying on its back and not moving.
She had studied animal care in college so climbed the gate and ran over to help.
But, after getting the animal to its feet she turned around and was faced with a flock of angry ewes.
The 31-year-old said: “I always pass a field with about ten sheep in but I noticed one sheep in the corner with its legs in the air.
“I thought I should help so I tried making some noises and clapping my hands to see if it would move but it didn’t and I was worried it was dead.
“She looked like she had been there all night and it took me five minutes to roll her over and get her to her feet.
“She was very wobbly so I stayed with her for another five minutes until she got her balance.”
Kelly said the sheep then bounded away as if nothing had happened, so she stood up to leave.
But, she was met with a wall of wool as the other animals in the field had become angry, thinking she was hurting the injured sheep.
Kelly said: “One of the sheep really charged at me and when I first saw it I was scared. I was panicking.
“But I quickly saw the funny side and was laughing as I ran away with my big orange Royal Mail bag on.
“The neighbours must have looked out of their windows and wondered what was going on, seeing a postie running away from a big gang of sheep.
“It was a good few hundred metres and I was quite out of breath by the time I got to the gate.
“I shouted, ‘don’t be so ungrateful, I’ve just saved your mate’.
“It felt good to help the sheep. She was really heavy and it took all my strength to get her back on her feet.
“She didn’t chase me though, so I suppose that was her way of saying thank-you.”
Kelly said she has always loved animals to the extent that her friends have given her the nickname “Doctor Dolittle”.
She said: “I’m a really big animal lover.
“Once I was on a round when I saw a lost dog running towards a busy road.
“I quickly stopped it and took it in my van to a vets, which was about 20 minutes out of my way and made me a bit late.
“I told a few workmates the story and they said, ‘Kelly, only you could do this’.”
She was encouraged to share her sheep drama by her mother, Sharon, who said it would be “nice to have a funny story every once in a while”.
