A WOMAN who lost a rare sheep at the weekend believes the animal died following a dog attack.

Caroline Ward, of Cleveland Lodge, Great Ayton, discovered the body of the two-year-old Soay ewe on Saturday.

A neighbour reported seeing torches in the vicinity of the field on two occasions over the weekend.

Mrs Ward told the D&S Times: "There is no way it could be a stray dog because this neighbour has seen people with torches and the field is completely stock-proof and fenced off.

"It's pretty sick that people think it's pleasurable to chase sheep for fun.

"The sheep are quite quick, so I suppose these people think it's fun to set their dogs on them to chase them. They must be sick."

The flock of rare sheep was reduced to nine by the death. Mrs Ward said it was the oldest member of the flock and would probably have tried to stand its ground against a dog.

She added: "I'm worried that they will come back and do it again. It's absolutely disgusting.

"It's just so ridiculous that things like this can happen and they get away with it. I reported it to the police and they said they would include it in their rounds, but it's a difficult place to monitor."

A spokesman for Stokesley police said: "We will respond to any problems such as this if we have the manpower available."