TWIN calves have hit the nationals by having their births announced in The Times newspaper.

Farmison & Co, the Ripon-based sustainable online meat company, announced the arrival of Prince and Charles in time-honoured fashion with a notice in The Times.

The calves were born on farmer Stuart Raw's Bolton Castle farm in the Yorkshire Dales last week.

Using funding provided by Farmison & Co, Mr Raw has increased his heritage British breed Dexter herd from just eight cattle in 2018, to more than 150.

The smallest breed of cattle in Europe, the Dexter was bred in Tipperary in the 1750s from descendants of the ancient black cattle kept by the early Celts. They were endangered in the 1930s, but now thanks to their ability to mature early while feeding on grass and the impeccable eating quality of its meat, the breed is bouncing back.

Farmison & Co founder John Pallagi and Mr Raw were present for the birth of calves who were named in honour of Prince Charles for his steadfast support of heritage breeds and sustainable farming.

Mr Pallagi said: “It was an honour to be present at the birth of our new Dexter twins, and to support one of our British small-scale farmers who do right by the land.

“Farmers like Stuart who care for their animals properly are the cornerstone of the countryside.

“This kind of production, in balance with nature, stands in contrast to the impending Australia-UK trade deal which could leave our best farmers facing an existential threat because of the government’s apparent willingness to accept free access to cheap meat from Australia.

“Cheap meat is anything but, if it’s brought from halfway around the world.”