A DOG attack on a farm in Distington has left two lambs dead and one injured after less than 24 hours of being placed in the field, according to an angry farmer.

Aaron Lawson, who works on his grandfather William Lawson's farm, Stubsgill Farm, shared a post online about what appeared to be a horrific attack.

The lambs were placed in the farm near the crematorium less than 24 hours before three of them were 'attacked by a dog', which left two dead.

This is not the first attack on animals at Stubsgill Farm. Aaron explained how they have had dog attacks on in-lamb ewes. But this is the first time they have experienced this with lambs themselves.

Stubsgill Farm has no public access, he said, which only added to the anger of the situation. Aaron wrote: "If you can see sheep are in the fields, especially with lambs, do not go in there with your dog! There is no public footpath near this field or in the field, so no one should even be in there. It is not for public use.

"Lambing time is hard enough as it is without this happening and considering they have only been in the field for less than a day is absolutely ridiculous.

"We would never expect this to happen.

"It is hard work taking care of everything all at once. Early wake ups, late nights even going through night and working all day ridiculous hours.

"Feeding, watering, lambing. Some lambs that need a bit of help with bottle feeding etc. Everyday in lambing is different, no days are the same... really, you never know what to expect."

The incident has been reported to the police who have recently released information about 'Operation Recall', which aims to considerably reduce the number of incidents where animals are injured, suffer, or are killed as a consequence of a dog attack.

Recently released data from the NFU shows that nationally, the claims costs of dog attacks on farm animals rose to more than £1.8million in 2022.

Cumbrian farmers are also reporting a significant rise in incidents. National Farmers Union (NFU) member David Parry, who runs a sheep farm near Wigton, has lost more than eight sheep to dog attacks over the years.

Reporting Information:

Anyone with information relating to this incident can report online at www.cumbria.police.uk/report-it , quoting incident number 85 of 28 March 2024. You can also phone on 101.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.