Shepherdess Emma Gray shared the story of how she was called by police to report that her husband rode their quadbike with her two-year old son, after which a viewer on This Farming Life made a complaint.
Mother-of-1, aged 35, relocated recently from Fallowlees, Northumberland, to the Isle of Bute, along with husband Ewan, and her two-year old son Len. Both of them feature in BBC2’s series.
Ewan and Len were seen driving their quad bikes slowly along the farm’s lambing field with Len sitting on Ewan’s lap.
Posting on Instagram earlier this week, Emma revealed she’d been left horrified when a viewer had complained to Argyll and West Dunbartonshire police about the action.
And speaking to FEMAIL, Emma said she was ‘disappointed’ to be targeted, saying: ‘It was in the midst of Covid, we had just moved to new island, we have no family nearby, nor any childcare.
Police were summoned to Emma Gray’s home by a viewer on This Farming Life complaining that Emma Gray, a shepherdess, was seen riding her quadbike with her two-year old son. On the BBC2 series, Len and father Ewan are pictured.
Emma, age 35 (pictured), moved recently from Fallowlees National Trust farm in Northumberland with husband Ewan to the Isle of Bute.
“Taking Len slowly on his bike, with his dad and a helmet on, to verify the welfare of lambingewes. It didn’t seem like we were breaking any laws.”
Video footage complained of showed Emma’s little boy happily perched on dad’s lap riding through their land four weeks after they moved in.
While the pair were going over the markings of lambs with their correct mothers, Ewan made sure that he took his son home and got off the quadbike.
After the program aired on Instagram, the mom-of-one posted: “So nice to get a visit from police.
Mother-of-one shared her anger on Instagram, adding that it had made her feel “horrible” and sharing footage of what the anonymous viewer said.
“Someone made a comment about Len being with us during the show. Makes you feel a bit horrible inside’.
You don’t need to be at least 18 to drive a quadbike on private property.
When they are made for this purpose, quadbikes can transport passengers.
While it is recommended, quad bike drivers and passengers in England, Scotland and Wales are not required by law to wear crash helmets.
Video of Emma’s toddler sitting happily on dad’s lap during their ride across the land, four weeks after the move there.
While the pair were checking for lambs with the correct mothers, Ewan made sure that he took his son home.
For comment, Argyll and West Dunbartonshire Police were contacted.
Emma hit the headlines 12 years ago, aged 23, when a split from her fiancé prompted her to take sole tenancy of the National Trust’s 150-acre Fallowlees Farm in Northumberland, making her Britain’s youngest solo shepherdess.
She later became the first woman to win the prestigious Northumberland Sheepdog Trials League in the contest’s four-decade history.
But rural life wasn’t easy – she struggled to find a husband and penned a memoir of her lonely life on the farm in 2012, called One Girl and Her Dog.
Emma longed to find a match, but her search for love suffered a major setback when she broke her back in a near fatal quad bike accident in June 2016.
The Sun published the same shepherdess in its 2012 issue. In a photoshoot, she revealed that she was in search of love and encouraged people to reach out.
Shepherdess Emma tied the knot with Ewan in 2018 and gave birth to their first son Len in 2019. The couple are photographed on Emma’s National Trust farm Fallowlees, Northumberland
At the time she described her perfect date as a ‘tall, rugged dog-lover who doesn’t mind a bit of muck’.
Emma was not only the champion in sheepdog trials and solo shepherdess, but she also broke a world record and adopted a border collie. canine royalty – after selling her for a world record £18,900 at auction.
After selling Megan the sheepdog to Dr Pamela Helton in America, she made 14,000 Guineas. This is an ancient currency that was still used for livestock bidding.
While similar farm dogs usually sell for around £2,000, the two-and-a-half-year-old fetched the huge sum because she comes from a family of champions.
Emma also set the previous record of £14,700 for sheepdog bitch Brenna in 2019.