A WOMAN from London has been fined £500 after her dog attacked a sheep – in Alresford.

Police received reports of an animal worrying livestock on February 18 at around 5.15pm.

Officers were deployed to West Tisted Manor Estate, Soames Lane, near Ropley, where a dog walker had lost control of one of her pets.

The dog was caught, but not before it had attacked a sheep.

A 61-year-old woman from London took full responsibility and a Community Resolution order was issued with a £500 fine, payable to the victim by means of compensation.

She was also ordered to sign a Dog Behaviour Contract, meaning she must keep her dog on a lead at all times when in a public place.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: "These have since all been complied with. This particular case, unfortunately, is commonplace in rural areas.

"Livestock worrying offences can cause significant impact financially to a farmer in order to treat injuries or replace the loss of livestock, while having a detrimental effect on the livestock farming business."

Gordon Wyeth, of Maple Farm in Ropley, who has 10,000 sheep grazing in fields across the south of England, said livestock worrying offences are particularly dangerous during lambing season.

"We have dog attacks every week and a lot of dog walkers still refuse to put their dogs on leads," he said.

"It’s a big problem. At the moment our sheep are heavy in lamb and if a dog chases them they will abort. We usually have 5-600 sheep in one field and it only takes one dog to chase them and they will all abort."