Tens of thousands of visitors have been taken on deer safaris around a west Norfolk farm over the past quarter of a century by Eric Herbert.

After more than 51 years working for farmer Edward Stanton's family at Snettisham, he has started his final season as a deer safari warden at Park Farm.

But the magic of the new arrivals of the spotted calves, which always seem to be born in the last week of May, might just encourage the veteran farm worker to postpone his retirement again.

The safaris have become hugely popular largely because of Eric's enthusiasm, knowledge and his stories about the red deer, said farmer Mr Stanton, who brought 110 hinds and three stags in a double-decker cattle lorry from Scotland on February 1, 1986.

'We soon had so many people asking to see the deer. It was taking so much time that we had to make the decision whether to pack up or carry on and start charging,' he added.

'And it just went from there and very quickly became hugely popular – thanks to Eric,' said Mr Stanton. 'He and I took the first deer safari around in August 1986 with the visitors sitting on straw bales in the back of a grain trailer. We wouldn't be allowed to do that now,' he added.

For the past 26 years, Eric has been taking visitors on 45-minute safaris around the farm and feeding the stags and hinds with cattle nuts. 'And then he hands the buckets for visitors to grab handfuls of nuts to feed the deer,' said Mr Stanton.

Mr Herbert, now 78, and married to Joyce, started working for Mr Stanton's father, Richard, more than 51 years ago. When the family moved from Manor Farm, Dersingham, in 1971, he carried on. When Mr Stanton, who had been rearing red deer in Perthshire, returned to the family farm, Mr Herbert started to help.

For the past quarter of a century, the first calves have always been born on May 25. 'You could almost set your watch,' said Mr Stanton, who said that about 70,000 visitors were welcomed to the farm complex each year.

But this year, by some strange quirk, the first calves were born five days earlier on May 20 to his herd of 59 mature hinds. Last year, he had 52 calves born, including a couple of sets of twins and the first duly arrived on May 25.

While his red deer are also reared to produce venison, the herd of breeding hinds and his three stags are a popular attraction through the summer months. And Eric and colleague Geoffrey Rolfe take about 30,000 visitors each year on the safaris around the 320-acre farm.

'I don't known how many people have seen the deer over the past 26 years but it must be tens if not hundreds of thousands. And Eric is known to people all around the country and from further afield,' said Mr Stanton.

'He's become almost as much of an attraction as the deer,' he added.

The deer safari costs �8 for adults, �6 for children, and runs every 45 minutes from about 11.30am. Follow the brown tourist signs to Park Farm, Snettisham.