ITV Emmerdale under fire as disturbing storyline sparks Ofcom complaints from angry fans

Emmerdale has come under fire once again and has sparked over 280 Ofcom complaints following the recent scenes showing a dog being killed.

The broadcasting watchdog has confirmed they received 282 reports in relation to an episodes of the ITV soap which aired on August 16 and August 19.

In disgusting scenes which aired on Friday (August 16), Tom King (James Chase) deliberately ran over and injured wife Belle Dingle's (Eden Taylor-Draper) beloved pooch to get at her.

Furious to realise he no longer had control over her, he was desperate for her to need him again. Tom was shown revving his car towards Piper as she walked around in the road after getting out of Lydia Dingle's (Karen Blick) house.

After confirming he couldn't save Piper, Belle quickly saw through her evil husband's act and accused the villianous vet of causing her injuries.

It's not the first time Tom's treatment of Piper has sparked backlash from angry viewers. A flurry of complaints were made to Ofcom in May, after Tom was seen drugging Piper to make her sick on purpose.

Tom was shown injecting Piper with a needle, telling her she was going to be okay as part of a ploy to get Belle to return home as part of the soap's devastating coercive control storyline.

The scenes angered fans who raced to complain about the show for "going too far". The soap even released a statement to assure fans that the dog portraying Piper was okay.

Following the backlash earlier this year, producer Laura spoke out about the scenes for the first time, explaining why they were important.

Laura explained that through research, the team found that abusers often used and targeted family pets. Laura went on to add there could be more scenes involving Piper ahead.

She told press at