FORGET the latest fashions on the catwalk — this is what all the best-dressed hens are wearing in the chicken run this winter.

A Neath grandmother has turned her hand to knitting woolly jumpers for chickens to help keep them warm.

The lucky birds in question are former battery hens who, after a lifetime spent locked in cages in egg factories, have lost their feathers.

A charity finds new homes for the birds after they retire — but the hens sometimes need a little help adjusting to their cool new outdoor life.

That is where Ann Duran, from Longford, comes in.

When the keen knitter heard about the chilly poultry plight she knew egg-sactly what to do — she got together with fellow members of the Helping Hands knitting group and the needles started to whiz.

Now a dozen chicken jumpers are winging their way to the rescue charity, with more to come.

Fifty-five-year-old Mrs Duran said: "Some people think I am a little bit crazy for doing this, but I wanted to do something to help. After being cooped up in little cages in hot sheds, the hens loose their feathers.

"Keeping chickens is becoming more popular, and lots of people are taking the poor hens and giving them a new lease of life in their gardens.

"I heard about the hens suffering from the cold until their feathers grow back and was given a knitting pattern of one of the jumpers — so I thought I'd give it a go,"

The first cozy chicks to get the new poultry tank tops were those belonging to Dionne Jenkins, the girlfriend of Ann's son, Richard. The forensic science student said: "When I was rescuing them I was not sure whether they would have feathers or not.

"The birds seem to be happy with the jumpers. I came across the idea on the internet and I thought it was hilarious.

"The chickens look quite sweet when they had the jumpers on."

The 26-year-old currently has three hens in her Caewern garden, with plans to get three more in the new year.

The rest of the Helping Hands hen jerkins are being dispatched to Little Hen Rescue in Norfolk.