Dog owners have been warned to keep their pets on leads in areas where they are likely to meet wild animals after a deer was allegedly taken down by three greyhounds at Musselburgh lagoons.

A man has told how he physically had to force the dogs off the roe deer after they took it down in front of him as he walked at the popular beauty spot.

The man said the greyhounds were among a number of dogs offlead at Musselburgh lagoons when they chased down the deer.

He claimed the owner of the pack failed to intervene as the dogs repeatedly sank their teeth into the stricken deer's back legs.

He told the Courier: "I was cowering over the deer, and had to forcibly remove the dogs while their owner stood by doing nothing.

"It was horrific. The deer was an older Roe and eventually managed to get away. I went back later to see if I could find it but it was gone."

The incident happened on Thursday afternoon when the man, who has asked for his identity not to be published, claimed he was threatened by the dog owner after confronting him over the incident.

And he was left furious after contacting the police who, he said, told them the dog owner had already been in touch to report the incident.

Police Scotland said they had spoken to both parties involved in the incident.

A spokesperson said: "We are aware of the incident and spoke to both parties. No further action is being taken."

It is understood the dog owner was contacted by East Lothian Council's dog warden and ordered to keep the dogs involved onlead when visiting the lagoons in the future.

A council spokesperson said: "Dogs should be kept on a lead when there are wild or farm animals about, for example, rabbits, hares, deer, sheep or cattle. Dogs off the lead in these circumstances can all to easily cause distress and injure other animals as well as being a danger to themselves.

"We work hard with members of the public to promote responsible pet ownership. While we cannot discuss individual cases, I can confirm that we do enforce the Control of Dogs Act in any case where this is merited."