It is a rare and remarkable image: an eagle soaring in the air with a helpless lamb dangling from its talons. Soon though, according to fearful farmers, it could be a common sight.

This amateur photograph, taken on the Isle of Mull, sparked a row over plans to reintroduce wild sea eagles to England's south coast.

Farming groups said the picture proved the giant birds were a threat to livestock, and claimed they could even attack household pets.

“These are dangerous predators,” one said. “They shouldn’t be anywhere near people, or their animals.”

The photograph was taken by Douglas Currie, while on holiday on the Isle of Mull with his wife.

Mr Currie, 74, from Loanhead, MIdlothian, said: “We saw this big shape through the sky and my wife thought it was a fish.

“We then realised it was a lamb and I rattled off a load of shots. The bird was struggling. It’s the most extraordinary sight.”

With a wingspan of up to eight feet and a beak resembling a meat cleaver, sea eagles are sometimes referred to as “flying barn doors”.

They were once widespread throughout the British Isles but had declined by 90 per cent by the time of the Industrial Revolution. The last bird was shot in 1918.