Baa-rmy grandmother Michelle Sullivan is being herded out of her home because she is addicted to collecting – toy sheep.
The 42-year-old can barely move in her modest two-bedroom terraced property in Erdington, Birmingham, after being penned in by her 600-strong flock.
She got hooked on collecting toy sheep in 1996 when a friend bought her a Shaun the Sheep foot-rest and now the cuddly animals dominate every wall and surface of her home.
Michelle – who even has a tattoo of a baby lamb on her arm – now says she has so many sheep that she has started looking for a bigger house to accommodate her growing herd.
The mum-of-one estimated that her collection is worth a at least £3,000.
Michelle, who lives with her son Leigh, 23, said: “I’ve probably got a few more than 600, I’m going to have a recount soon.
“It took me and my niece about three hours to count them last time.
“It’s hard because there’s sheep inside sheep inside sheep and they are in every drawer.
“Apart from my son’s room, they are everywhere in every other room. I guessed they are probably worth about £3,000.
“I need to buy a bigger house to store them all now because they’re taking over the house.
“I love everything sheep related and just can’t stop collecting them. When Shaun the Sheep first came out I fell in love, he was just so cute.
“A friend bought me the stool for Christmas and then I kept getting more and more until it moved on to any sheep.”
As well as her first foot-rest, Michelle’s favourites from her collection include her blue nose sheep, celebrating her love of Birmingham City Football Club, her sheep saucepans and Beswick china sheep.
She added: “The foot-rest is a little worse for wear now
“My grandson Liam loves it so it has been worn away with cuddles.
“The only room which doesn’t have sheep in is my son Leigh’s. I’ve joked about him changing his name to Shaun but he wouldn’t have it.”
Michelle is hoping kind-hearted people will donate even more sheep so she can break the world record for the biggest collection of sheep-related memorabilia.
The title is currently held by Canada’s June Francis, who had around 700 sheep-related items in June, 2011.
She said: “This week alone I’ve had seven sheep sent to me from people who follow my progress on Twitter and Facebook.
“A lady sent me a badge made out of her own sheep’s wool from Scotland and I’ve had a cross stitch design sent all the way from New York.”
