Cars have been known to reverse back along Fulwood Lane just to get a better look at the bizarrely attractive animals who inhabit Quicksaw Farm.

But that's just the way farm owner Elaine Sharp likes it because, in her eyes, alpacas are something to be admired.

"My fascination actually began with llamas when I was just four years old," said Elaine, who remortgaged her house to buy the 42 acres of land where her Mayfield Alpacas site now stands.

"It was while looking into purchasing my first llama that I came across alpacas and fell in love with them too."

Elaine credits the curious creatures, who originate from Peru, with getting her through a very hard time in her life.

The 44-year-old bought the first of her creatures just after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997.

"I wanted something to get me through it, so my husband Nigel and I started looking into getting a llama, then we encountered the alpacas," said Elaine, who lives in the Mayfield valley.

"A few weeks later, I arrived home with one of each."

Just over 10 years later, Elaine now has 86 alpacas and two llamas, and her herd is expecting up to 30 new babies this summer.

"An alpaca's gestation period is about 11-and-a-half months," said Elaine.

"They are at their most fertile again about two weeks after giving birth so females can pretty much spend their entire lives pregnant.

"I don't really want that for my girls so I try to give them a year's break in between pregnancies."

Mayfield Alpacas is open to the public free of charge and is a popular destination for walkers.

It is also home to a cafe and visitor centre which has now reopened following a four-month refurbishment.

In the back of the cafe is a shop selling alpaca-wool clothing and merchandise such as books, cards and accessories.

"I have a new centre manager in place and we now have a full menu up and running," said Elaine, who also owns the Norfolk Arms hotel next door to the farm.

"We do full breakfasts that are very popular with walkers and offer meals, snacks and speciality coffees throughout the day.

"When I first bought that patch of land in 2001, never in a million years did I think we would be welcoming visitors through the door every day."

At the time, the site was completely bare. Nothing - not even planning permission - was in place, so they built up their empire from scratch.

"We constructed all the barns ourselves, under the strict guidance of Sheffield Council's planning rules," said Elaine.

"We had to install everything.

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