‘A weird dream’: Sheep tries to enter lift in Welsh hotel

‘No one in any of the Premier Inns across the UK has ever heard of anything like this before’

Off the wild coast of North Wales where the Irish Sea batters the ancient rocks, lies the historic island of Anglesey, and off the western edge of Anglesey, lies the tiny Holy Island, where the main town, Holyhead - a major port for reaching Ireland - has a Premier Inn.

Against this remote backdrop an improbable encounter occurred this week, which has had the staff in the budget hotel questioning reality.

A sheep walked inside the building and was spotted wandering about and pausing, then wandering about again, close to the hotel’s lift.

Video footage of the incident has emerged.

Filmed from a human point of view, the camera operator appears to be walking through the lobby of the hotel, before turning a corner.

In front of them, a sheep is standing, calmly looking at the lift. Then it moves slightly and looks towards the camera.

“Oh my god,” the camera operator says, before the video cuts out.

According to the Press Association, the staff at the Premier Inn have nicknamed the unexpected ungulate “Sidney”.

Sidney had apparently walked onto the premises through the hotel’s electric doors.  

“The team were rubbing their eyes when Sidney strolled in. It was a bit like a weird dream,” Linda Pritchard, duty manager of the hotel, said.

“Sidney's quite been the talk of the town and no one in any of the Premier Inns across the UK has ever heard of anything like this before.”

This is significant as the company owns more than 800 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Germany, according to its website.

“It's been lovely really, he's really put a smile on people's faces,” Ms Pritchard added.

Staff at the hotel said Sidney is now back in a field after the incident.

The Independent attempted to contact the Premier Inn in Holyhead, but an automated message stated: “There are an unusually high number of calls at the moment."

Additional reporting by PA