A FARMER who owned the lamb a border terrier chased off the cliff has hit out at the way the incident has been handled.

Dean Exton, who has been farming sheep in Eype for more than 24 years, said he lost a lamb when the border terrier Molly, who fell from cliffs near Thorncombe Beacon in Eype, chased it off the cliff.

He said: “As much as I’m very happy that Mrs Tipper got her dog back, it’s really upsetting me that no-one cared about the lamb. It’s probably dead.”

He added the incident constituted sheep worrying but had been ‘brushed under the carpet’.

“Everybody has been extraordinarily amazed by the fact that the dog was rescued and not thought about the lamb, or why the dog wasn’t on a lead, or the cost of the coastguard rescue.

“The lamb has been been pushed away from its mother and has maybe survived the fall, but it could have been down there for three or four days, and it’s either going to die of starvation or the foxes are going to get it."

While Mr Exton conceded the incident was an unfortunate accident, he said dogs have chased or mauled his livestock five times in the last two months alone and he estimated the loss of the lamb cost them £120, as they also process meat from the animals at the farm.

He said: “Yes, it’s an accident, but it’s not just that one time. We have had five sheep worrying incidents this year since February 24 and have lost three sheep, although we managed to patch-up another two and save them.

“We have about eight or nine incidents a year and there has definitely been an increase in incidents." since we have been down here; it’s got worse.

“You do have responsible owners but it’s always the same story, you get about half that aren’t good. If only people read the signs and realised what the consequences are."

Mr Exton also disputed Mrs Tipper’s claim that she left Molly off the lead because she could not see any sheep.

He continued: “Downhouse is sheep farm, we have fields from Eype to Seaton Beach so there’s never not going to be sheep.

“If there aren’t sheep in the first field then there will be in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth fields.

“When Mrs Tipper came into Downhouse Café (on the day Molly ran over the cliff) I asked her why her dog was off the lead there, but she said it didn’t matter.

“She wrote a letter to Nikki, but she hasn’t taken in what the lamb has gone through and didn’t come back asking what she can do.”

Dorset Police launched a campaign in March to raise awareness of sheep worrying, producing posters which showed graphic injuries to a sheep caused by a dog.

Sheep worrying is a criminal offence and land owners can legally shoot a dog if they believe livestock is at risk, under the Countryside Right of Way Act and Criminal Damage Act 1971