A FARMER is appealing for information about an animal which terrorised his sheep at Thurstonland.

David Broom, a part-time farmer, keeps his sheep on hill tops near Oakes Avenue between Thurstonland and Brockholes.

At about 4.30pm last Wednesday some people walking their dogs contacted Mr Broom at his home on Town Moor Lane after they noticed some injured sheep in a field.

Mr Broom and three friends went up to the fields and discovered 12 sheep missing.

The group scoured the countryside until dark, rounding up injured sheep.

They continued on Thursday and Friday and on Saturday morning they found the last sheep dead in woodland near Oakes Avenue.

Three of the sheep recovered had to be put down and eight are still badly injured.

Mr Broom said: "Some had been got round the throat, one had its front leg chewed off. They were traumatised. We have never seen anything like it. It was quite horrific."

He said nobody spotted a dog, but the injuries were consistent with that kind of animal.

He said: "It looked like a dog attack. There are a lot of dogs on the footpath to Brockholes. Someone must have noticed if it was their dog. It would have been out a long time as the sheep were found over an area of a mile.

"It would have had blood and wool in its mouth. We don't know exactly what's done it, but a lot of people use the Brockholes footpath so someone may have seen something.

"We are just hoping that if someone does know something they do the right thing. We want people to know this kind of animal is loose."

Anyone with information about the incident should contact Pc Neil Johnson via Huddersfield police helpdesk on 01484 436659.

THE ANIMAL ACT 1971

ANYONE who is the keeper of a dog that causes damage by killing or injuring livestock is liable for the damage caused. The keeper is the owner or the person in possession of the dog. The head of the household is liable where the owner is under 16.

Under the Act there is a defence available to someone who is the subject of civil proceedings for killing or injuring a dog that was worrying or about to worry livestock.

The defence can be used where there were no other means of ending or preventing the worrying or where the dog that had done the worrying was still in the vicinity and not under control and there were no practicable means of establishing ownership.