Surprise for shoppers as sheep taken for a walk in Shrewsbury

Drivers in Shropshire are accustomed to seeing animals on their journeys – but the sight of a thatched goose on a house or even that of a live sheep being taken for a walk could still come as a shock.

Published Apr 12, 2013

On walkabout in Shrewsbury. Picture: James Wallace - We are frostfire

Shoppers were taken by surprise yesterday at the sight of a sheep being taken for a walk near the Maplin store in Market Street, Shrewsbury.

A picture was later put on website, Twitter.

Owner Sally Barnett outside the cottage near Market Drayton and Jack the goose visits The Crown with Keith Barnett and Sally Barnett

Seeing double Sally Barnett outside her cottage with Jack and his straw friend

Meanwhile, Sally Barnett, 41, and Keith Burgess, 53, are the owners of Jack the Goose, a well known celebrity in Market Drayton. The goose, who is three-and-a-half-years-old, regularly makes trips to the pub and the town's weekly street market with the couple, as well as boasting his own website and more than 1,300 friends on Facebook.

But he now has another claim to fame as the couple put a straw statue of him on top of their new home at Clod Hall, Little Heath Green, near Market Drayton. Jack's owner Ms Barnett said:

"Everyone else has pheasants on thatched roofs so we wanted to do something a bit different. I commissioned a local firm to make the statue. I sent them a picture of Jack and it's a good likeness.

"He is just a member of our family and everything seems to revolve around him so it was like his nest by putting him on the roof. It was one of the first things we thought of."

Do you know the owner of the sheep spotted in Shrewsbury? Contact our newsdesk on 01952 242424.