A DEAD sheep has been left lying in a ditch in Skipton for two weeks according to a local resident.

Anita Montgomery said she spotted the animal at the side of Carleton Road on February 13 and believed it had been swept down from a field during that week's floods. She contacted Craven District Council's environmental health department who sent someone out to have a look.

The officer could not find the animal and asked Mrs Montgomery, of Burnside Avenue, to confirm it was still there. She left a message to say it was still in the ditch and tangled in a fence. Almost a week later the animal was still at the side of the road by then partly covered in grass and debris.

Mrs Montgomery called the council again and to her disbelief was asked to ring someone in Northallerton who was employed to remove carcasses.

"I said 'I am sorry but I don't think it is up to me to ring'. I had reported it to the environmental health department and it was now up to them," she said.

Two weeks after she reported the dead animal Mrs Montgomery walked along the road this week and was horrified to find it was still there.

"They have been going on over the past few days of foot and mouth still being about. The fact that the sheep was still there after a fortnight beggars belief," she said.

Head of operations at Craven District Council Greg Robinson said: "Although we were made aware of the dead sheep some days ago, initially there was a problem of identifying its location. Having found it, the recent flooding has resulted in the carcass being submerged before it could be removed. Hopefully if the water subsides we will be able to attend to the animal and collect it, assuming it will be still there.

"There has been a delay in our response to this matter and I would like to apologise for any distress this has caused. The Refuse Collection service does attend to the collection of dead animals on the highway and this is given immediate priority. Unfortunately on this occasion a combination of location and extremely bad weather has interfered with the process."