Warning: This article contains graphic images

A man helplessly watched the moment his pet sheep was brutally attacked by a dog, with the distressing footage captured on his doorbell camera.

The canine broke into the secure enclosure in a field behind Leon Harris’ home in Ripple, a village near Deal, and chased the animals, with images streamed straight to the 41-year-old’s phone.

The two sheep, siblings Shaun and Sheila, managed to escape the pen but so did the dog, which targeted Shaun, and ripped bloodied chunks out of the powerless animal.

Shaun fled to Mr Harris’ home near Mongeham Road in a desperate attempt to escape the attack, but the mid-sized canine continued pulling at the fleece.

In the Ring doorbell footage, the dog’s owner can then be seen scrambling to capture his pet.

The dad-of-two has reported the incident to the police, which happened last Thursday at about 11.40am.

Mr Harris, a painter and decorator, was working in Folkestone when the chase occurred and so could only watch in horror as it took place.

He then spent two hours looking for two-year-old Shaun, who was found in a dilapidated barn, covered in blood and bites, with a hole in his armpit and part of his ear bitten off.

Chunks of his fleece were also found scattered across the land.

Mr Harris, who only owns the two sheep, said: “I have a Ring doorbell at the front and back door and it notifies me on my phone when there is motion at either of them.

“Last Thursday, only the back camera went off which was strange.

“When I clicked on the notification on my phone, it showed me the dog attacking the sheep.”

“There are fields at the back of my property and the man let his dog off its lead and it broke through secure fencing.

“The sheep escaped and ran down to the house where we saw the dogs biting chunks out of it.”

Shaun, who was hand-reared by Mr Harris after his parents died, is now recovering and being treated by Mr Harris’ mother-in-law, who is a farmer.

This is the third time Shaun has been attacked by a dog off its lead in the last two years, but the injuries were more severe this time.

The incidents have led Mr Harris to issue a warning: “A lot of people let them off the lead and cannot control them. If you are near animals or people, keep your dog on lead.

“It was lucky it was a sheep and not a kid.”

A Kent Police spokesperson said officers from the rural task force made contact with the owner of the sheep and inquiries are ongoing to identify the dog and speak to its owner.

“One of the sheep sustained injuries which required veterinary care,” they said.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident should contact police on 01843 222289 quoting reference 19-0565.