There may be less visitors to the Macclesfield countryside as the weather gets colder, but sheep attacks remain.

Cheshire Police Rural Crime Team have issued their sixth appeal of the year for dog owners to keep their pets on a lead.

It is after another sheep was lucky to survive their mauling by a dog in our town.

Luckily, it was just the one attacked and the sheep is still alive.

Police Constable Steven Kaminski said: "Recently I have been dealing with a livestock attack that occurred in the Macclesfield area."

"It's unfortunate that these incidents continue to occur, despite the fact they can so easily be avoided.

"There are a number of lines of enquiry I will be looking into with a view to progressing the matter.

"It is not only the cost of the injured livestock that the farmer will incur, but also the hours spent dealing with the aftermath. Please do keep your dogs on leads around livestock and for those of you that already do, thank you."

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Dog attacks on livestock cost UK farmers £1.3m in 2020, a figure which increased due to lockdown walkers filling up beauty spots.

It is also legal for sheep worrying dogs to be shot, if they are disturbing on the farmer's land.

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