Mini cows are said to be the latest middle class craze, with people buying them in reaction to rising food prices.

A national newspaper article suggested that the cows, costing about £500 each, could be kept in the back garden to both mow the lawn and feed a family.

Mini cows are actually dexters, a hardy mountain breed from Ireland and have long been farmed in Kent.

The Farrant family, who have a smallholding in Brabourne, are keen to stress mini cows are not pets and definitely not suitable to be kept in the back garden.

“They are perfect for a smallholder who has a few acres; maybe they’ve got horses and too much grass but they are livestock and they’ve got to be treated as cattle.

“They are definitely not pets,” said Caroline Farrant, who is a vet.

Ownership of dexters has doubled since 2000 but it seems the national press articles were more a product of the “silly season” and less of a revolutionary idea for a new family pet.