Dairy farmers are starting to turn to aromatherapy in a bid to cure mastitis in their cows.

A special massage oil is being used to clear up mastitis, an infection which causes cow udders to become inflamed.

Former farmer Norman Spence, 59, has created the 'udder oil' from a blend of lavender, eucalyptus, geranium and damask rose.

The oil is sold by his company Avesta Herbal Products of Skipton.

He said: "A customer who is a farmer came in for some oil to alleviate his arthritis.

"He came back later and said: 'I don't suppose you can do anything for cows with mastitis.' Now he swears by it.

"It works by bringing down the cell count of the bacteria in only two applications and can clear it up in two to three days.

"It can have an advantage over an antibiotic such as penicillin which often means a lot of milk has to be poured down the drain."

He said some farmers were sceptical at first, but changed their minds when they saw how effective the oil was. "Some of them thought aromatherapy was just mumbo-jumbo, but were pleasantly surprised when it worked. They even said it made their hands feel softer.

"We did tests for three years on four farms in Yorkshire but now we're selling it all over the UK. We're having to move our lab into bigger premises to cope with demand.

"The farmers massage it into the cows' udders and it works its way into the bloodstream from there - and it even makes the milking parlours smell nice."

Dairy farmer Norman Bell of Cowling has been using the product for six months.

"Although it is not guaranteed to work, it works for us. People are starting to look at these things and get away from antibiotics."

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