A LAMB was left to bleed to death after being attacked by a dog on Midsummer Hill.

The incident is the worst in what has been a spate of sheep worrying on the Eastnor side of the Malverns.

Shepherd Geraldine Holbourn found the Hebridean lamb by the side of the Worcestershire Way on Saturday.

It was part of a flock belonging to the Malvern Hills Conservators, and was destroyed humanely after Conservators' shepherd Richard Smith was called to the scene.

After talking with walkers, Mrs Holbourn believes the lamb had been suffering for at least one and a half hours following the dog attack.

Mr Smith said: "Leaving a lamb to die is almost as bad as having it savaged in the first place. We know accidents happen, but if they do, please tell someone, even anonymously."

Mrs Holbourn's own flock, including seven lambs, was attacked recently by a golden retriever. Fortunately there were no injuries but both dog and owner disappeared.

Two weeks ago at British Camp, the former chairman of Herefordshire National Farmers' Union, Gordon Gilbert, of Canon Frome, was out walking when he tried to come to the rescue of a sheep and its lamb being chased by a terrier.