A FARMER fears cruel dog owners could have been responsible for an attack on his sheep after he found two of them with such “horrendous injuries” he had to put them down.

Gary Kay, of Dunnington, has alerted other farmers in the area to keep an eye on their sheep and is appealing for anyone who saw anything suspicious to contact the police.

The two animals were part of a flock of 76 lambs being kept in a field off Eastfield Lane, Dunnington, and were being kept for breeding. Both were Texel breeds and had been born in February this year.

But in the early hours of Saturday, something bit both so badly, they had to be put down. The bite marks were about five and a half inches wide and covered a large part of each animal’s face.

Mr Kay said: “I have seen thousands and thousands of sheep that have been worried by dogs over the years, but I have seen nothing like this.”

He said none of the sheep, including the two injured ones, showed signs of having been worried and he fears that the animal, probably a dog, that attacked them had been deliberately set upon them.

He said that if a bright light such as a strong torch is shone in a sheep’s face, it can prevent them running off and enable a dog to attack them face on.

“Whoever is doing this is very sadistic,” he said.

He immediately contacted the police and other sheep farmers in the area. The sheep were worth about £120 each