WITNESSES are being sought after several sheep were injured and killed in a dog attack at Longash near Yelverton on Friday (April 28).

Eyewitnesses to the incident, which took place at around 2pm, reported a middle-aged woman with a chocolate Labrador-type dog on a red lead calling after a middle-sized, dark-coloured, terrier type dog called Belle, which was running loose in the area.

Seven sheep were attacked, including five lambs and two ewes. Two of the lambs died as a result of the attack. The two ewes are in an unstable condition and the remaining three lambs were bitten but are recovering.

Dartmoor Livestock Protection Officer Karla McKechnie has logged the incident with the police and is asking anyone who may know of this woman or has any information about the incident to either contact her on 07873 587561 or to contact police on 101, quoting crime reference number CR/031884/17.

Karla urged people to keep their dogs on a lead and under close control when around livestock. She said: ‘Dartmoor is not a play area, it is a working landscape and should be respected. With more and more people coming to Dartmoor, we are witnessing a significant rise in dog attack incidents. Sheep suffer horrendous injuries when attacked by a dog and nearly always die — sheep are defenceless!’