Molly has been using her maternal instincts after lambs Lucky and Charm were born with complications on a farm.

Her owner Maria Foster, 38, from Forden, near Welshpool in Powys, said Molly slept with the pair at night, and even protected them from other animals.

The health of Australian aboriginals is 100 years behind that of the rest of the population, according to a new report.

Indigenous people, which account for about 2.4% of Australians, are plagued by health problems that have not affected the rest of the country’s population for many years, Lisa Jackson Pulver at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and colleagues, who carried out the study.

“Leprosy, rheumatic heart disease and tuberculosis haven’t been experienced in white populations for decades, but they are still problems for some indigenous communities,” Jackson Pulver says.