A DOG owner has agreed to pay compensation after his two Japanese Akita dogs attacked his neighbour’s sheep.

The dogs attacked a flock of 25 sheep in Baxenden, seriously injuring one ewe who had to be put down and tearing the fleeces of five others.

Owner John Ellison said neighbours had to intervene to prevent any more being hurt.

Mr Ellison, of Gallows Hall Farm, Broad Oak Road said his father-in-law Roy Heys together with neighbours Andrew Sanderson and Colin Mansfield managed to chase off the dogs using a shovel.

The dogs’ owner Tony Devine, of nearby Devine Fisheries, said his dogs Sandy and Snowy were good with children and had never been vicious.

Mr Ellison said he and his family arrived home from a weekend trip in time to see the aftermath of the attack on Sunday morning.

The 47-year-old said: “It was quite a scene that greeted us, blood and wool everywhere.

"We called the vet for the injured ewe who said there was nothing to be done.

“The poor animal was just covered in puncture wounds.

"My neighbours saved the day really by chasing them off.

"It has cost us around £250 in vets bills and in the loss of the sheep.

“The dog owner was very upset at what had happened but refused to have his dogs put down.

"Our worry is what happens next time they get out?”

Mr Devine said he has had the 14-month-old animals since they were eight weeks old and that they were very friendly to visitors.

He said: “They’re friendly dogs who are great with my children.

"They pull clumps out of a mattress they have at home and I think they have started just pulling at the sheep’s wool in the same way.

“They are still just puppies and I think they were just trying to play with the sheep.

“They aren’t vicious and the police have checked them out.

"I left the gate open which is my fault so I offered to pay the farmer any costs.

"I had thought that was the end of it.”

A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said that, after speaking to both owners, the incident was seen as a matter of compensation between them.