Sheep attacked by dog in a farm near Lancing

A #farm in #Coombes has had their sheep attacked by an 'out of control dog' near #Lancing, West #Sussex. #WestSussex #UK

A lamb at Applesham Farm, Coombes Road had been attacked by a dog, being just 2 weeks old. #AppleshamFarm

There had been no sign of the 'irresponsible' dog owner, or dog.

Hugh Passmore, who manages the farm with his uncle, Christopher, said: “I was turning out the ewes and lambs again and they were all on one side of the field so I knew something was wrong. I found the lamb which was in a lot of shock and had blood on it. We called the vet out and it had to have seven stitches and was put on a lot of antibiotics. Fortunately it has recovered, but it went through quite a lot of trauma."

Hugh, a campaigner supporting calls for stricter dog management laws said: "Unfortunately, the message about keeping dogs on leads was still not getting across. It is frustrating. It wastes our time, and an animal is injured. It has got to that stage where I think, what can we do? It is probably a minority of people but they need to realise that they can’t just let their dog off the lead and not pay any attention to it.”

Jenny Flake (formerly Passmore) runs Church Farm in the same road, and has also fallen victim to sheep worrying said: "We have had so much – it is a nightmare. Last year was particularly bad. We had dogs swimming across the river, and attacking the sheep. Fortunately, we haven’t had any killed this year.” She said she had put up signs warning dog walkers to put their animals on leads, and often cautions people on #Facebook. The rural police team are doing a good job, and I think the majority of people are fine, but there’s a minority of people – particularly paid dog walkers – who are still not listening.”