THE owner of a pregnant pedigree ewe that was mauled to death by dogs has spoken of his disgust by the attack.

Stuart Lawton said he and his sister - who helps look after the small flock of Zwartbles sheep - were "devastated" by the brutality of the attack, which happened at Catterton Hall Farm, near Tadcaster this weekend.

The pregnant ewe - nicknamed Big Mamma - was chased by two lurcher dogs for seven minutes until they brought it down, then mauled on the ground for about 30 minutes until she and her two unborn lambs were killed.

Mr Lawton said he was appalled that the dogs had been left to kill the ewe - which was carrying its third set of lambs in four years - by their owners.

He said: "We have secured everything, and we have cameras on every angle to stop people trying to steal things.

"The paddocks are fenced properly for the sheep and horses, and we just go about our business and look after the animals in a manner where they are all virtually named, so for this to happen is awful."

Mr Lawton has about 15 ewes, and though he said the loss of the ewe and the two lambs would set him back at least £1,000, he was most disgusted at the lack of respect and responsibility shown by the dogs' owners, who have not yet been identified by police.

He said: "They're loaded guns. You don't let a car drive itself, someone has to look after these dogs, they are lethal weapons.

"You take pride and joy in what you do. They are fed, watered and looked after to the best of our ability and for someone to let their dogs go... the owners weren't there, and the dogs would've been covered from head to toe in blood. The end result was horrendous."

North Yorkshire Police have launched an investigation into the attack, and urged anyone with information to phone them on 101 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111, quoting reference 12180064128.

Mr Lawton's sister shared graphic CCTV video and images of the attack on social media, and the public response has already been one of shock and support to help find the owner of the dogs.

Mr Lawton said: "We have knocked on every door and spoken to everyone we can and the information we have is that they didn't come on their own, the dogs, and they weren't supervised.

"Someone knows and we will get them. The next thing is a kid's been torn to pieces, because they are just out of control."