A FURIOUS farmer has said he will shoot the next dog which gets into his field after his pregnant ewes were mauled by an out-of-control pet

Two sheep were left with tattered ears and injured legs after a German Shepherd managed to leap over a fence and wreak havoc among the flock.

Dave and Heather Todd are worried that it is too late to save the lambs after the attack, at Scenefelda Farm, in Thorpe, which left their six ewes traumatised.

Mrs Todd 75, who has lived on the farm with her husband Dave for 16 years, had just finished checking the boundary to the field at around 8am on Saturday.

She said: “I was on my way back home and the sheep were all happily grazing.

“I looked behind me and all of a sudden the whole lot were charging up the field.

“An Alsatian-type dog was chasing them. There were no breaches in the fence, it had jumped over.

“I shouted ‘get your dog under control, it’s attacking the sheep.’

“The fence is about 3ft and covered in a strand of barbed wire.

“It grabbed one sheep.

“The sheep spread out and it got hold of another one by the bottom of the field.

“The dog owner started screaming, but the dog took no notice whatsoever.”

“My husband arrived in the middle of all this and I had shouted ‘’go get your gun.’

“I understand the dog is just doing what is natural to it, but the owners have allowed this to happen and the sheep are under threat.”

Mr Todd, 73, said the attack had caused the sheep to suffer and the loss of the lambs could impact on his business.

The couple also farm hay and keep chickens and ducks and sell their eggs. He said: “The next dog which puts its nose over the fence I will blast its head off.

“To see this poor ewe in this state, with its ear hanging off, was horrible.

“I have been around farm animals all my life and had sheep for over 20 years. If a dog is about to kill my sheep, why shouldn’t I defend them?”

Farmers have a legal defence for shooting dogs or animals if they attack or worry sheep or livestock.

The couple want to use the attack as an example to show owners what can happen if a dog gets close to livestock.

They want dog walkers to stick to allocated footpaths and refrain from straying onto farmland.

Dan Land, district councillor for Thorpe, said: “It is an Essex County Council responsibility to make and monitor footpaths.

“If there is an issue we will make the county council aware.”

"The county council is actively pursuing a footpath map which will be ready in the coming months.”