THREE sheep have been found dead in the water at West Bay.

As previously reported, swimmer Pete Brown pulled a dead sheep from the water off the beach at West Bay last Friday, September 6.

Now Dorset Council says 'up to three sheep' without ear tags were found in the water at West Bay in just a few days.

A Dorset Council spokesperson said: “We believe up to three sheep came down the river and ended up in the water at West Bay over a recent 2/3-day period. Unfortunately, sheep and cattle can occasionally get washed out to sea following heavy rainfall, and the sluice gates being opened.

“The sheep recovered did not have ear tags. If the carcass has an ear tag we can sometimes identify where it has come from, in which case it will be the owner’s responsibility to recover and dispose of it through an approved fallen stock company. If not, it’s unlikely we could ever know where it came from, so it is down to the landowner to dispose of.

“If any other dead animals are seen in this area in similar circumstances, they can be reported to the harbour office, or use the incident reporting forms on our website.”

Read more: Dead sheep found floating off East Beach, West Bay

Pete Brown, 74, a frequent sea swimmer, pulled the sheep he found out of the water with the help of two others and reported it to the council. After the incident, he said: "It was floating about 20 metres offshore by the rocks.

"We thought it would be the nice thing to do if we pulled it in and got it out and disposed of - otherwise it would have floated around all day and that doesn't look good.

"It was bloated and I dragged it onto shore by one of its hooves and then two others dragged up the beach to the bins."

Pete and his swimming group believe that the sheep most likely fell from a nearby cliff.

He added: "It is the only thing we can think of because you don't see sheep going swimming or even having access to the sea."