A 'SHOCKING' dog attack which caused the death of a foal and left its mother badly injured on Dartmoor has prompted an emotional plea from an animal charity for owners to keep their pets on leads.

A large dog was witnessed launching an attack on a mare and foal at Yennadon Down, near Burrator Reservoir on Sunday afternoon.

The injuries caused to the foal, which was less than a week old, were so severe that it to be put down by a vet at the scene. The mare is currently being treated with antibiotics and lots of TLC according to the South West Equine Protection charity which is looking after the pony at its rehabilitation centre at Yelverton.

Charity manager Adele Cassidy said this was the first time she had heard of a pony being attack by a dog. Dog attacks on sheep were more common.

'It was a nice sunny afternoon on Sunday so lots of people were out on the moor and witnessed this incident,' she said. 'It was very upsetting.'

She said everybody was deeply shocked by this incident, including the dog owners who had the pet destroyed.

'We would urge owners to be a little more responsible with their dogs and keep them on leads. At this time of year there are lots of lambs and foals all over the moor.'

Adele said that the Dartmoor Commoners' Council had worked hard to try and get the message across to dog owners and there were signs up across the moor.

'We just hope people will start to take notice because incidents like this could so easily be avoided if people kept their dogs on leads.'

Last year a record 75 attacks were recorded against sheep, costing thousands of pounds in lost income for struggling hill farmers.