"The situation is desperate", said sheep farmer Chris Purdham.

Not only had Chris, who farms at Gamblesby, struggled initially to reach his hundreds of pregnant ewes, but there are many more still trapped in huge snow drifts higher up the fells

And to make matters worse the farmer is having to deal with stressed ewes giving birth earlier than predicted.

"Some of the lambs were being born, in effect, in ice baths. No wonder some have not survived," said the hearbroken farmer.

The snowfall hit the east fellside so hard that Chris said he was unable to reach his sheep and they went without feed for three days.

"It was absolutely hearbreaking. They came down looking like skeletons. I have been feeding them hard feed twice a day and they are looking a lot better," he added. "The roads were so bad it was just sheer determination that got me to them."

"But it is soul-destroying. I have lost some lambs they were so weak. One had triplets and they survived, thankfully, but I'm going to be hit hard. The losses will be huge, and when it is your livelihood it's harder to bear."

"I can't see how those sheep higher up can have survived. But the snow drifts are 15-20 feet high and too dangerous to try and dig them out.
"I got someone with a drone to search, but the snow is so hard packed, and there won't be any air holes. I will have to wait until it thaws.

"This is the worst snowfall we've seen here since 1985."