A NINE-YEAR-OLD Chard schoolboy has plucked numerous awards at the National Poultry Championships.

Sam Dunning has been breeding rare chicken and ducks for around four years and has become passionate about his feathered animals.

He would use his pocket money and spare time to care for the animals and buy them at farm auctions.

He is now breeding around 150 chicken and ducks of various species and has been attending shows for around three years with great success.

This year he won Champion Junior at North Somerset, Devon County and Bath and West shows, and last weekend he added the Champion Junior accolade at the National Poultry Society Championship Show.

He was also awarded the Prince of Wales Gold Star, beating off competitors, some almost double his age.