THE owner of a rare breed flock in the Yorkshire Dales says she is ‘heartbroken’ after finding her favourite Boreray ewe savaged to death in a field next to her farmhouse.

Helen Wray, of Gam Farm, Moor Lane, Grassington, said the ewe, called Ophelia, was a twin lamb that had been hand-reared from birth after being rejected by her mother.

The sheep was now coming up to two years old and was in-lamb for the first time with twins. She was kept in a field next to the farm because she meant so much to the family.

Helen said she thought the attack must have happened on Friday night (March 1) because they did not hear anything and the farm dogs, which were inside, had not alerted them.

The following morning they found the ewe, which had suffered horrific injuries. Helen thought the attack was so savage that more than one dog may have been involved.

“I’m absolutely heartbroken about it,” she said. “It’s really distressing because a dog has obviously been into the yard and done this.”

Helen, who farms with her husband Chris and son William, said they had reported the attack to the police and were now considering getting CCTV cameras and improving fencing to provide greater security.

They have another 12 in-lamb Boreray ewes that were with Ophelia, but none of them were injured. Helen wondered if Ophelia was caught because she was so trusting and was slower to get away.

The family started the farm in 2002 and have worked their way up from ten acres to about 120 acres now. They also have some Wensleydale and Whitefaced Woodland sheep, and rare breed cattle and goats.

They have an online shop selling rare breeds wool, they also sell rare breed meat to restaurants and are in the process of seeking planning permission to start an agricultural museum.

The latest episode of sheep worrying is one of several incidents which have occurred in the Dales this year with other instances being reported at Rylstone and in Malham.

There have also been other reports of people seeing dogs running among sheep near Settle.

Just chasing sheep can cause them to abort their lambs and pose a threat to the health and lives of the ewes.

Anyone seeing attacks or sheep being chased by dogs are asked to phone the police on 101 and report them.

In Kirkby Malham the parish council has said it is pursuing bringing in a by-law to force dog owners to keep their pets on leads when walking among livestock or on footpaths around Malham.

The parish council is currently in talks with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority about its concerns.