DOG owners have been urged to keep their pets on leads around livestock after a sheep was killed and another injured in “horrific attacks” on the Malvern Hills.

One sheep is suspected to have had a fatal heart attack due to stress of being chased by a dog, having also been bitten, while a second also suffered bite injuries to its legs and tail.

Both incidents took place over the weekend, the fatal attack reported near St Ann’s Well on Sunday, with the other seeing the sheep chased off the hills and over West Malvern Road the previous day.

Beck Baker, the Malvern Hills Trust’s community and conservation officer, said the attacks are “completely avoidable” if people use leads, adding this weekend’s incidents demonstrate that a “dog’s bite isn’t the only thing that will kill a sheep”.

Dog attacks on sheep are reported to the police, and the trust asks visitors to report incidents they witness on the hills by calling 101.

To help visitors be prepared, the trust publishes Stockwatch on its website each week, updating on locations of cattle and sheep grazing where dogs should be on a lead.

Other recent attacks include a sheep being killed by an Audi which then failed to stop earlier this month.