A farmer in Australia has paid his respects to his late aunt by arranging dozens of sheep in the shape of a heart after he could not go to her funeral due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Drone footage of Ben Jackson’s tribute to his beloved Auntie Deb was viewed by mourners at the service in Brisbane, Queensland, 270 miles away from his farm in Guyra, New South Wales.

The heart-warming video was made as pregnant ewes were filmed eating barley in a paddock.

“It took me a few goes to get it right … and the final result is what you see. That was as close to a heart as I could get it,” Mr Jackson said.

He started the experiment by making shapes with sheep during the drought in the early months of the pandemic and found that if he dropped grain from the back of his truck, the flock would adopt the form for several minutes.

“It certainly lifted my spirits back in the drought,” he said.

“This heart that I’ve done for my auntie, it certainly seems like it’s had a bit of an effect across Australia.”

He added: “Maybe we all just need to give ourselves a big virtual hug.”

Mr Jackson said he was lucky to have any grain left on his property after a mouse plague this year that followed the drought.

He continues to supplement the pregnant ewes’ diet with grain to improve their condition before they give birth.

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