A teenager with autism has been given a chance to work in the field of his dreams on a dairy farm thanks to a council-run employment service.

Nineteen-year-old Felix Felton had always wanted to go into agriculture but was finding the maths entry level quite difficult at college.

Dorset Council's employment provider Pluss looked for alternative routes into the industry, finding him a job on a dairy farm in Dorset.

Meggy Moo's in Shroton, north Dorset, is a dairy farm where the Perrett family have spent the last 30 years milking 180 cattle to produce milk, milkshakes, butter and cream.

Felix’s confidence has grown substantially over the last few months.

He said: “When I first came here, I didn’t know what to expect and was pretty nervous, but now, from what I’ve learnt, I feel so much better, a lot more confident in myself and a lot happier.

“My experience has been absolutely amazing, and I’ve thoroughly loved it. Being around the environment that I’ve wanted to be around for the majority of my life – I’m so thankful for it.”

For the first month Felix, of Sutton Waldron, had support working alongside him to help him learn the ropes.

But now he’s confident in labelling the bottles, filling up milk cartons and putting them in the cold room.

He also cleans out the cow cubicles, looks after the cows and even helps with the robotic milking parlour.

He said: “I’m learning from my experience and getting better at it, and I want to do more things on the farm.

"I’d love a full-time job. My experience here has been breath-taking.”

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Meggy Moo's owner Rachel Perrett said: “We didn’t have to make any adjustments when bringing in Felix into this environment. As an employer our experience of employing Felix has been really positive. It’s something we’ve really enjoyed and I think we wouldn’t be without him now.

“To anyone else thinking of taking on a work experience student, I would thoroughly recommend it. It’s very rewarding. I think not just for the student but the team as well. It’s been an experience that has been really enjoyable.”

The Dorset Supported Employment Service is delivered by Pluss, on behalf of Dorset Council.

The service provides employment support to adults with care and support needs, people with learning and physical disabilities and those who experience mental health conditions.