A sheep was found shot dead on a farm in Ickleton last Wednesday (June 17).

Peter Wombwell, 58, owner of Wombwell Farms, found the animal shot through the eye with what is believed to be an air gun or .22 rifle on a routine visit to the field in Coploe Road.

Mr Wombwell said: “We were gathering the sheep and we noticed that one was dead and then, when we looked closer, we saw she had been shot through the eye.

“We thought she had been dead a couple of hours when we got there, so it happened in daylight hours.”

The vicious attack was a culmination of a number of strange instances, including the electric fence being turned off and the gates being opened on two occasions, the farmer said.

Mr Wombwell added: “It’s most odd, there’s been a lot of low level stuff going on.

“The sheep are not wild animals so they are not going to run away, so they would have been an easy target.

“We thought we were keeping a closer eye on them, but obviously not close enough.”

He usually visits the field two to three times a day.

Outraged responses followed Mr Wombwell’s tweet about the incident. Laura Constable tweeted: “Hope the [villains] are caught soon, one questions why?”

Police have been made aware of the incident and are appealing for anyone with information to get in contact with Saffron Walden police on 101.