EYEWITNESSES watched in horror as an ‘out of control’ dog mauled a deer to death in Lyme Regis.

Helpless bystanders have described the shocking scenes as the dog chased the deer across a road, narrowly missing traffic, before killing it.

They have branded the dog a ‘true killer’ and fear a child or livestock could be next.

Father-of-three Rob Lane, 43, was out for a walk when he heard the screeching deer.

He said: “It was quite disturbing.

“Dogs do chase deer a lot but you don’t actually expect them to catch them and kill them.

“You wouldn’t want your children to see something like that.”

Elaine Boswell, 63, was returning home to St Georges Close from the town when it happened.

She said: “This dog wasn’t like any other dog, chasing for fun, it meant business.

“It had caused cars to stop in the road.

“It is worrying to think that this uncontrollable, killer dog might be off lead in this area again.

“If it could kill a deer like that, it could easily kill livestock.

“The way it went after this deer, it seemed like a true killer, a true hunter.

“You can’t really have that around the streets of Lyme.”

The dog, believed to be a rescued female lurcher, was seen pursuing the deer out of Slopes Farm, a Woodland Trust wood in Roman Road, on Wednesday afternoon.

Businessman Mr Lane, of Colway Lane, said: “It jumped over a fence towards the road and hit some railings, then the dog followed it.

“The deer was trying to get up but the dog jumped on top of it.

“It managed to run up Colway Lane into someone’s garden and cars stopped in the road. Then it re-appeared and ran down the hill and jumped over the bridge into the water.

“We went over to look and saw the dog kill it. It got its jaws around the deer’s throat and held on until it died.

“It was a pretty professional kill.”

Mr Lane and Mrs Boswell tried to call the dog but were worried it might turn on them.

Retired Mrs Boswell said: “When it looked up, it did cross my mind that it could come for me because I didn’t know how dangerous it was.”

Mrs Boswell saw the owner as she came out of Slopes Farm and told her what had happened.

Haye Close resident Philippa Fortescue, 68, heard about the incident and said the deer was still in the river several days later.

She said: “As an ex-farmer I have very strong feelings about out of control dogs who will rip apart deer like that – what would it do to sheep, someone’s pet cat, or it could be a child?

“I would have thought that dog was trained for bringing down deer.

“Apart from almost causing an accident, it is a dangerous dog that needs returning to the rescue home or disposing of. I don’t think it’s a safe dog to have around.”