It is believed the lamb had its ear tag ripped out and was dumped in a random field so it could not be traced back to the farmer.

Sixteen lambs have been killed in a suspected livestock worrying incident in Fife, following a call by the sheep sector for more action to tackle the crime.

A Sandown woman has been made to pay compensation to the owner of a sheep, which was killed in a dog attack on the Isle of Wight last month (March).

One of the sheep later died, along with its unborn triplet lambs, with its death believed to have been due to a heart attack caused by the stress of being chased.

Dyfed-Powys Police are investigating another attack on livestock after a series of incidents over the last month.

THE Cumbrian police and crime commissioner has called for dog owners to keep their dogs on leads in rural areas after 12 reports of sheep worrying were received by the constabulary since January.

Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Peter McCall, is urging dog owners to keep their dogs on leads in our rural areas this Spring to help reduce sheep worrying.

On average, three sheep deaths were reported each year per farmer as a result of dog attacks.

Dog owners are being warned to keep their pets under control after a number of sheep were killed or injured since the start of the year.

Dog attacks on livestock cost the industry more than a million pounds every year. It's hoped that new legislation giving police more powers to crack down on irresponsible owners will help stop the growing problem.

'Farmers should not place cattle with calves in fields where members of the public have a legal right to walk'

They were walking along a public footpath through a field holding cows with calves when one of the cows attacked, leaving Steve badly injured. He spent seven days in intensive care.

Police Constable Sebastian Haggett, of the Rural Crime Team, said: “We take all reports of this nature very seriously. This matter has been the subject of a detailed investigation by officers, and we have sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.

THE National Farmers' Union (NFU) has spoken out on the 'huge' issue of sheep theft for farms in Cumbria.

Officers are warning the public to remain vigilant after sheep were killed in string of rural crimes in Nottinghamshire.