Farmer reveals how he found David Cameron in swamp as he saved his sheep - The Sun

THE farmer whose drowning sheep was rescued from a swamp by David Cameron told yesterday how he found the PM waist deep in mud.

Julian Tustian rushed to the boggy scene after one of the PM's two bodyguards rang him.

Both had joined Mr Cameron in plunging into the 4ft deep mire and were trying to wrestle the ewe — now named Swampy — to freedom as darkness fell.

Julian, 43, a pal of the PM, said: "I can't imagine any other Prime Minister doing something like that. David was soaking wet and covered in mud."

Mr Cameron — in jeans and wellies — had earlier popped in to see Julian as he headed back to his nearby home in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Shortly after leaving, he heard bleating and found Swampy stuck fast after following two lambs, who had drowned in the muddy hell.

Proudly holding one-year-old Swampy yesterday, Julian recalled: "I got the phone call and went over in my pick-up vehicle.

"The Prime Minister and his bodyguards were in there trying to rescue her. They had to just pull and shove until she worked free.

"They put her into the back of my pick-up and David went off to have a shower. It's been a hard year for farmers because of the weather so I really appreciated it."

Dad-of-one Julian — who has 50 ewes and 80 lambs — added: "It's a side to David I guess the public doesn't often see, but he has helped me out with lambs before.

"He likes to muck in and help whenever he can. He seems quite fond of sheep, I do think he could be a farmer and hold his own with a flock of sheep." The 15-minute drama unfolded on March 1. Mr Cameron mentioned it briefly at a Downing Street reception for the Tesco Mum of the Year Awards.

He said: "I helped my neighbour with his lambing one weekend and that gave me more pleasure than anything I've done for a long time.

"He lost one of his ewes and so we were bottle-feeding some of his lambs and then one of his sheep got stuck in a swamp. Sadly two lambs had died. She'd gone in to rescue them and they had drowned. We managed to get the ewe out. Some of the staff with me joined in. We all jumped in and were up to our waists in the swamp.

"So this ewe has now been named Swampy and she's alive and well.

"I'm not saying I'm going to be a farmer, but I do love the countryside." In 2007 Mr Cameron helped Julian when a ewe was having problems giving birth.

In 2011 the PM sketched a sheep — and added the caption "Thinking of ewe" — when asked to contribute artwork for a charity auction. A limited edition of 50 prints were made, with one fetching £300 for Kids For Kids.

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