SHEEP farmer Lance Beale left some of his sheep untreated after they had been savaged by dogs, a court heard this week.

A vet and a trading standards inspector found severely injured sheep on Beale's land at Wyatt's Lake Farm at Westbrook near Bromham and a number of sheep had to be put down.

Two months later several emaciated and lame sheep were found at the farm. Also found was a pile of 20 rotting sheep carcasses on a trailer but on the top of the pile was one sheep which was alive. This sheep was put down by the vet.

Beale, 53, denies eight charges of causing unnecessary suffering to various sheep and lambs on November 20 2000 by failing to treat or destroy them when they were severely injured.

He also denies seven charges, on January 17, 19 and 25, 2001, of causing unnecessary suffering to various sheep and lambs by failing to treat or seek veterinary advice for emaciation and lameness.

He has also pleaded not guilty to four charges of failing to dispose of sheep carcasses without undue delay.

The trial started on Monday at Kennet Magistrates Court in Devizes before a district judge and was due to finish tomorrow.

The court heard that Wiltshire County Council trading standards animal health inspector Louise Tovey attended Beale's farm on November 20 2000 and saw a number of severely injured sheep, six of which had been savaged by dogs.

Mrs Tovey told the court: "In the farmyard I saw a black Welsh Mountain lamb with its face ripped off and half its leg ripped off."

Elsewhere on the farm Mrs Tovey found a number of dead sheep and a number of dying sheep along with some that were alive.

Mrs Tovey tried to contact Beale but without success and she called out a vet so the badly injured sheep could be put down.

When he did return Beale said his dogs had attacked his sheep but in a later interview he said he wasn't sure if it was his dogs.

He said he had checked the sheep before he went out that morning and had destroyed the badly injured sheep.

Michael Forster, prosecuting counsel, said Beale told Mrs Tovey that he had shot the worst injured and had left others which were injured and which he described as "first aid cases". He said he intended to review these sheep when he returned that evening.

Mr Forster also said Beale did not call a vet out to treat the injured sheep because it would have cost too much.

On January 3, 2001 Mrs Tovey visited the farm and saw some 200 ewes which had very limited grazing and were on mud.

Ministry of Agriculture vet Ralph Drouin visited the farm two days later and advised Beale to treat a number of lame sheep without delay.

They visited again on January 17 and 19. Between 60 and 80 lambs were treated for footrot, which causes lameness, and two lambs were put down.

On January 25 Mrs Tovey and Mr Drouin returned to the farm and found sheep carcasses in a field and a pond.

Mrs Tovey smelt rotting flesh and found a trailer stacked up with 20 sheep carcasses in varying degrees of decomposition but on the top of the pile was one sheep which was alive.

Video footage played in the court showed the sheep breathing slowly and moving slightly. The sheep was put down by Mr Drouin because it was in such a poor condition.

Jonathan Rich, defending counsel, said the trailer on which Mrs Tovey found the sheep carcasses had become stuck in mud.

He said footrot is endemic in sheep and said the winter of 2000/01 was one of the wettest for farmers.

He also said there was a form of footrot that could occur overnight.