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Two dogs thought to be responsible for attacks which left 20 sheep dead have been locked up while their future is decided.

Armed police had to shoot one of the sheep which had been savaged by two rottweilers.

It happened in a front garden in Canterbury after a number of sheep had been attacked by the dogs in a field.

Peter Streader, in whose garden it happened, spoke of “blood everywhere” following the vicious attack on Thursday morning.

He was talking after armed police joined in the hunt for the dogs. Seven sheep were attacked and severely injured in a field off Downs Road.

A number were so seriously injured that they had to be put down.

It was the second time in five days that the flock had been attacked. In all farmer Billy Pynn has lost 20 sheep in the two attacks.

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Mr Streader, who lives opposite the field, witnessed the two dogs attacking a sheep which had escaped and was in his front garden.

He said: “I was woken at about 7.10am by the sound of barking and when I looked out of the window I saw the rottweilers standing guard in front of a sheep which was in a dreadful state and clearly petrified with half its face missing.

“I dialled 999 and pretty soon there were a lot of police cars up here, including some armed officers.”

Mr Streader, who lives in Downs Road, went on: “By then the dogs had ran back into the field and were attacking more sheep.

“An officer shot the injured sheep in my front garden but it had to be put down because it was in such a bad way.

“I think the police were worried that two dangerous dogs were on the loose when people would start to take their kids to school.”

He added: “The council later came and removed the carcass but there is blood everywhere.”

Mr Pynn, who rents the 60 acre field where he grazes 100 animals, says 20 either died or have had to be put down because of the severe injuries caused in the two attacks.

But he also fears for the rest of the flock which he now expects to abort their lambs due to be born in March.

He said: "They have been left in a dreadful state and it will cost me thousands of pounds.

"It is not just a case of dogs chasing sheep - they have been badly mauled."

The horror of dog attacks on sheep is one of the most heartbreaking things a farmer can face.

That’s according to the chairman of the National Farmers Union’s Livestock Board in the South East, who is calling for dog owners to do more to prevent their pets attacking sheep.

Howard Bates said: "There is nothing more chilling than receiving a call from a neighbouring field saying that your sheep have been attacked by dogs.

"When you get there you could have a few lying around dead. You could walk the edge of the field and find one or two up against the hedge with their cheek ripped off, dripping blood and obviously in a deep state of distress and shock."

Mr Bates implored dog owners to keep their animals under control by keeping them on a leash when walking them near livestock.

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Kent Police’s head of the Canterbury district, rural and neighbourhood teams Jon Leslie said: "These incidents can be quite traumatic for officers. Routinely we deal with people injured by other people or cars but when you deal with an animal which has been attacked and they are unable to defend themselves it does have an emotional impact on you."

Police were called to the area at about 7.15am and told the dogs had headed in the direction of St Stephen’s Hill, which they closed with the junction of Downs Road.

Eye witness George Martindale, 69, of Downs Road, said: “It was my wife that alerted me to it. We looked out of the window and there were lots of police officers everywhere.

“It was all a bit chaotic and I didn’t know what was going on.”

Area commander for the East Kent Area, Ch Supt John Molloy, said his officers would shoot the dogs if necessary.

He added: “Our priority is to protect the local people and livestock.”

Two dogs were later safely removed from the area by the RSPCA.