...."There are far more than a statistical average of ladies of all ages who have taken part in the dance and have then found themselves in the family way within twelve months."

The mention of Morris dancing conjures up one of two images:

The first is the traditional English village green, birds singing and the sun shining.

The second is a lot of overweight bearded men leaping about and waving hankies in the air.

Mysterious powers of the dance..

Others see it as a pagan and almost barbarian rite that has remained since the Dark Ages and try to ban it.

However it still has some powers that reasonable people cannot explain.

The White Horse Morris Men have been dancing as a group for over fifty years.

They have a reputation for certain things that seems very mysterious.

One of their dances is reputed to be a fertility dance.

It is still going strong in its effect on the women of Wiltshire.

There are far more than a statistical average of ladies of all ages who have taken part in the dance and have then found themselves in the family way within twelve months.

None of the morris men say they are responsible....

None of the aforementioned Morris men say they are responsible...

One of the ladies is Claire Jefferies from the Bell Inn at Wylye. She took part in the St George's day celebrations at the pub last year and is now bearing children.

Mother and the twins, due in June, are said to be doing well.

Ian Bowden is the 'Squire' or leader of White Horse Morris Men.

He explained: "It just goes to show the power of the Morris. Over recent years we know of at least 15 young ladies who have joined in the dance and found themselves with child within the year.

"A few years ago there was one pub landlord who banned us from doing the dance at his inn because too many of his staff were becoming pregnant after taking part in the dance - and good staff are hard to get."

Bob Hill who usually leads the ladies into the dance says it is surprising the reaction there is to taking part:

"Some women run away screaming if we suggest they join in whilst others, often those who want children, actively push themselves forward to take part in the dance.

"All we do is dance around them and then lift them up into the air after that it is all down to the process of nature with a little help from the spirit of the Morris."

The dance is a traditional one called 'Old Woman Tossed Up In A Blanket' and is always performed as one of the penultimate dances at the White Horse.

The dancers see their hobby as a long and living tradition of English ritual dance, the origins of which are shrouded in the mists of insobriety and controversy.

At this year's St George's night festivities at the Bell at in Wylye, Claire and her partner Brian were looking on and a few of the other local ladies kept their distance!