Courier, the star of the Duke of Westminster's Cogent stud farm near Chester, was awarded the prize of the world's top performing bull by Swedish experts Interbull.

The five-year-old Holstein, whose sperm samples are sold for £22 each, was named top bull not for his looks but on the performance of his 220 daughters.

The accolade will delight the duke who went to great lengths to protect his herd of breeding bulls during the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

Courier facts

He could live to the age of 15 He is 5ft 6ins tall and weighs 168 stones He can run at 25mph His carers take sperm from Courier every other day He drinks 15 gallons of water a day

His bulls spent some five months locked into sealed barns breathing specially-filtered air as the disease was detected just a short distance away from the farm at Aldford.

Breeders say his success is due in part to Cogent's determination to set new standards in animal welfare.

Courier and the rest of the herd have their own water beds which are washed twice-daily and warmed by the animal's body heat.

Each bull enjoys a special diet to aid fertility, regular romps around a playpen filled with two-foot of sand and relaxing massages as they are washed down with a powerful water jet.

Music is piped into the barns to get the bulls in the mood during semen collection - with the BBC local radio station proving to be a particular favourite with Courier.

The animals also have access to rubbing posts and butting pipes to release excess energy.

"This has put British bulls firmly on the map," said Cogent managing director Tim Heywood.