A farmer has spoken out after a heartbreaking attack by two dogs resulted in the death of seven of his sheep.

Ian Dennis lost six lambs and a breeding ram in the onslaught, which he described as the “most devastatingly horrific” case of livestock worrying he has witnessed in 25 years of farming.

Five other breeding ewes were injured by the dogs, two of which are unlikely to survive, Mr Dennis of Longcombe Farm, Totnes, said.

“My family has lost sleep during the past couple of nights, haunted by the terrible injuries and suffering that our animals must have gone through,” he admitted.

The two dogs, described as a collie and a lurcher, escaped from their owner and were not found until the following afternoon by Mr Dennis’s son Dan.

Driving down to the ‘hidden’ valley to check on the lambs, Dan discovered six had been massacred by the canines, who were sitting relaxing nearby.

He was forced to shoot the injured animals as he knew they would not survive their horrific wounds. Some of the lambs had their guts ripped out and the dogs had practically chewed the leg off another.

Mr Dennis’s wife Julie said: “Dan was absolutely devastated. We all were. I was in tears for three days.

“We raise these animals and nurture and care for them. I know they’re destined for the table, but we want to give them a good life.

“The breeding ewes can stand up to dogs a little bit but the lambs didn’t stand a chance at all.

“Dan had to shoot all six. They were still alive when he found them and that level of suffering is what is so distressing. The dogs had obviously been there for ages.

"They had probably sheltered in the wood overnight and as soon as it was light they were hungry, so they probably thought, ‘let’s have a go at the lambs’.

“They had been suffering for hours when Dan discovered all this carnage. It was deeply upsetting to see them in such a state.

“The dogs were in the field with them and they were absolutely exhausted.”

Dan captured the dogs and the family returned them to their owner, who lives in Buckfastleigh.

Mr Dennis said: “He let his two dogs off the lead and they ran off. He spent a relatively short amount of time looking for them, then went home safe in the knowledge that someone else would find and identify them by their tagged collars.

“To lose control of your dogs is bad enough, but to go home, leaving them on the rampage, is outrageous.

“Many people say, ‘my dog would never chase a sheep’. In my opinion, and given the right circumstances, all dogs are capable of this. They’re carnivores who are descended from wolves.

“We have two well-behaved, affectionate dogs on our farm, but if we abandoned them for 24 hours in a territory they were unfamiliar with, they would, without doubt, behave in exactly the same way.”

Mr Dennis made a heartfelt plea to dog walkers to be responsible with their pets when walking on farmland.

“It’s totally irresponsible to let dogs off their leads on or around private land where sheep are kept,” Mr Dennis said.

“As farmers, we need the public to understand that farm animals are not just our livelihood, we do actually care about them and take pride in what we do, spending huge amounts of time rearing and nurturing them.”