A PEDIGREE ram and a six-month-old lamb have died following an attack by a Staffordshire bull terrier dog last night.

Two other pedigree rams ‘may not recover’ due to the severity of the attack, which happened in fields by the side of the road going to Leonard Stanley in Stonehouse at around 6pm.

A six-month-old lamb was found dead and the ram was put down by a vet due to the injuries being too severe.

The sheep were bitten on the face, mouth and nose.

“Once again a heart-felt plea to dog owners, please, please keep your dogs under control,” said Sarah Spence, owner of the flock.

“This is extremely distressing, there is little chance these beautiful boys can be saved, the wounds to their faces are horrific.

“This dog was out to kill these sheep, they were so terrified they jumped into the river.

“I will make it my life's work to ensure that our countryside is safe for our livestock and that dog owners learn to keep their dogs on a lead around farmland.

“Please, please, please it's a simple request.

“Maybe people who don't live and work with animals don't understand, but to us these are more than just our farm rams, they are unique individuals that we work with and care for every day.

"To see this is happen to them is truly heart-breaking.”

The owner of the dog has now come forward.

This is not the first time that Sarah has had to deal with this sort of incident when a pregnant ewe of hers died after a dog attack left it with horrific injuries in January.

Anyone with information should call Gloucestershire police on 101 quoting incident number 374 of October 7.