Police have taken the unusual step of publicly announcing that investigations are continuing into the sheep killing at Wells.PC Lee Anderton was responding to emotive comments made by members of the public attending a meeting of Wells town council on Tuesday calling for those identified as being responsible to be driven out of the town and be given a lifetime ban from its pubs.

Police have taken the unusual step of publicly announcing that investigations are continuing into the sheep killing at Wells.

PC Lee Anderton was responding to emotive comments made by members of the public attending a meeting of Wells town council on Tuesday calling for those identified as being responsible to be driven out of the town and be given a lifetime ban from its pubs.

PC Anderton, the Wells beat officer, said : “I want to reassure the public that there is lot going on concerning this case behind the scenes.”

He said he was unable to go into details because it could prejudice the investigation.

The town was shocked by the attack on a pregnant sheep last month. Youths were seen kicking and stabbing the Hebridean ewe, called Helga, at Wells in the early hours of March 23.

There was widespread condemnation of those responsible after it was revealed they used fence posts and pitch forks to kill the animal which had been due to give birth in two weeks.

PC Anderton said that six people had been questioned in connection with the killing and released on police bail,

He stressed that four of those questioned were over 17 and two were under 17. He said that charges would be laid in May when the names of those charged would be made public.

Talks were going on between the Crown Prosecution Service, solicitors and the RSPCA.