A FARMER from Littleton on Severn believes that two of his sheep were killed by the solar eclipse.

Rob Taylor found two of his flock of around 250 ewes dead in one of his fields, which he believes is down to electromagnetic radiation resulting from the phenomenon.

Mr Taylor believes his sheep died on Wednesday, March 25 - five days after the eclipse - due to a lack of calcium in their blood.

The 53-year-old, who runs a 200 acre farm in the village, said: "I was walking through my field and saw that two of my sheep were dead.

"I tested them and my results show they died from acute hypo-calcification of the blood.

''It was brought about by electromagnetic radiation flooding back down to Earth immediately after the eclipse.

"I thought the eclipse would, of course, change mineral levels in livestock, but I did not think that it would be fatal."

He has spent the last 27 years studying the effects of radiation from the sun on livestock and humans through his website www.earthingtherapy.co.uk

Rob also believes mineral toxicology can be rapid and irreversible.

He said: "The specific relationship between anti-oxidants, derived from these minerals, free radicals and the operation of the natural detoxification systems within mammals, are so critical for both their physiological and psychological well-being.

"It is this through investigating this particularly complex, dynamic and confusing area of research that I have come to study the way in which the body adapts to environmental change and the nature of intolerance syndromes, such as chemical and electrical sensitivities."

Without accurate calcium level readings, from the sheep that died, before and after the eclipse scientists would be unable to back up the theory.

Biologist Dr Robert Salmon, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Durham, said: "Without much more empirical scientific research and a large amount of data, this does not seem likely, otherwise scores of sheep across the country may have died.

"The circadian rhythm of the sheep could have been disturbed by the eclipse, but that could be tested by putting a bag on its head during the day and seeing if its calcium levels dropped."