Ram believed to have killed two people found dead in paddock in ...

An elderly couple are believed to have been killed by a ram at their rural West Auckland property.

The pair were found dead in their Waitākere paddock by their son who went looking for them this morning after he hadn’t heard from them, a family spokesman said.

A police spokesperson said they were notified just before 7.30am.

Dean Burrell said it was his mother’s sister and her husband who died. He said the couple were both in their early 80s, retired and had lived at the property for eight years.

“Unfortunately, they both lost their lives in a tragic accident. They are nice people and didn’t deserve this.

“Everyone’s in shock as to what’s happened. They’re very upset. I feel like I was dreaming it actually, it was a bit of shock, being told what had happened and I just didn’t believe it.”

Burrell’s father had phoned him to tell him the news.

“So I’ve come down here to support my cousins and the wider family.”

The Herald understands the ram was shot by police. It is understood police believe the man went out to check on the ram and did not return. His wife later went out to check and did not return.

Burrell said the couple were hobby farmers.

”They had some sheep, some chickens and some cattle I believe.”

“Two people have been located deceased in a paddock at the Anzac Valley Rd property,” police said.

A scene examination is underway.

A neighbour who has known the elderly couple for many years and who asked not to be named described them as a “very quiet couple”.

He said he was unaware they had a ram on the property but he knew they ran sheep on the lifestyle block.

The neighbour said the man who lived at the property had been farming all his life.

”He was a very good stockman,” the neighbour said.

The neighbour said he was very surprised to hear the couple may have been killed by a ram given their experience with animals.

There are several police vehicles parked down a long driveway at the property.

Police officers were seen carrying bags as they walked towards the road away from the property.

The address on Anzac Valley Rd has a two-storey house on the property, and six people were gathered on the deck of the building today.

A neighbour who lives across the road from where the bodies were found said her husband took their dog for a walk this morning only to be confronted with a large number of police and an ambulance in the property, a lifestyle block.

They did not hear anything overnight before police arrived, she said.