The idea has won the pupils first prize in a competition

Companies have been queuing up to get their logos and details on a herd of the animals at Gelli Aur Farm in Llandeilo.

The idea of dressing the cows in lightweight sponsored jackets was dreamed up by five pupils at the town's Ysgol Tregib secondary school.

It has won them first prize in the inter-schools Celtic Enterprise competition run by Careers Wales.

The coats are extremely light and are similar to the blankets you see on cows at the Royal Welsh Show Tim Williams

The Year 12 pupils make the jackets themselves and charge companies �35 a time to have their names or logos emblazoned on the side.

Sponsorship on all 10 cows in the herd has been snapped up by businesses ranging from a car dealership to a sun tanning salon.

The school's business and enterprise teacher Tim Williams said the cows were in an ideal place to give companies maximum exposure as Gelli Aur Country Park is popular with hundreds of visitors.

"The coats are extremely light and are similar to the blankets you see on cows at the Royal Welsh Show," he said.

"There are Velcro straps so they are fully adjustable for the fuller figure.

"Some of the companies involved include a limousine hire company, an animal feed company and the company that makes our school uniform."

The school is no stranger to the business world as in the last two years pupils have won and come second in the UK wide Young Enterprise competition.

"Because Tregib is in a rural area we feel very strongly that we have got to give the pupils a taste of the enterprise world if we are to get them to continue living in the area when they have left school," he added.

"These are extra-curricular activities that they do during their lunch time or after school and there is a lot of competition to join."