CONGRATULATIONS are due to Bill Wiggin, who had a new addition to his brood this week.

The Leominster MP, who began keeping Hereford cattle last year, was said to be delighted with the birth of his first new calf.

"I am so pleased that the little heifer is so fit and strong and I am sure she is going to grow up to be a real beauty," he said.

But his choice of name for the latest addition to his herd could prove as contentious as David Beckham's use of a Spanish girl's name for his new son.

Mr Wiggin said: "We have decided to call her Margaret or Maggie, after the Iron Lady and Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

"She is registered with the Hereford cattle society as Parliament 1 Margaret. I am hoping she will have as long and successful career as her namesake."

There must be something in the air in Mr Wiggin's neck of the woods - the new heifer follows the birth of his son, Jack, in December.