Sheep find way to escape road grids

LONDON (AFP) - Their reputation as innovators and adventurers is thus far slim, but it appears some sheep may be smarter than you might first think.

According to astonished eye-witnesses, a particularly adventurous flock in northern England has found a way to get past supposedly hoof-proof metal grids installed across roads -- executing a neat commando-style roll over the top.

Determined to get access to the rich grazing of local gardens in Marsden, a town in the hilly Pennine region, local sheep have worked out how to get past the barriers, the Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.

"I've seen them doing it and they're clever," said an impressed Dorothy Lindley, a local councillor.

"They lie down on their side, or sometimes on their back, and roll over the metal grids until they are clear."

At times also hurdling five-foot (1.50-metre) fences or squeezing through tiny gaps, the enterprising flock has laid waste to a series of gardens, as well as flowers in the graveyard, the newspaper reported.

"It's a serious problem because they make a mess of people's gardens," Lindley told the paper, saying that she sometimes barked at rogue sheep like a dog in an attempt to scare them off.

The grids were installed 10 years ago after one irate gardener rounded up a series of stray sheep and held them hostage, demanding action, the report said.

However, now new measures seemed necessary, as more and more sheep -- this time fitting to species stereotype -- copied the roll manoeuvre.

"What we really need is more fencing to stop them, but they would probably find another way out before long," Lindley complained.