- Three of the victims were seriously injured in the attack
- Armed police officers were sent to the scene
- Paramedics had to stand back – leaving the injured lying in the road – while
officers captured the dogs - Police arrested the 22-year-old
owner of the animals and another 21-year-old man
By
Anthony Bond
03:15 EST, 23 July 2012
|
11:55 EST, 23 July 2012
Brave: Daniel Walker, left, tackled one of the savage animals with a local labourer. They wrestled it to the ground and forced it into a cage. He is pictured with his mum Tracey, who was attacked during the incident
A brave have-a-go hero who helped save ten people as they were being savaged by two vicious dogs told how ‘terrified screams’ spurred him into action.
The two crazed bull terriers ran amok sinking their teeth into the arms and legs of ten people, all aged between 20 and 50 years, in a brutal series of attacks last night.
Witnesses described seeing one of the animals hanging by its teeth from a woman’s arm as she tried frantically to stop the pair attacking another passer-by.
As the carnage unfolded in the seaside street a group of up to 30 children began to arrive on the scene, sparking fears the youngsters would also fall victim to the powerful dogs.
Sussex Police confirmed this evening
that the the two dogs involved are Staffordshire bull terriers crossed
with American Bulldogs.
Daniel Walker, from St. Leonards-on-Sea, near Hastings, East Sussex, described how he and a local labourer tackled one of the savage animals, using all their strength to wrestle it to the ground and force it into a cage.
Police later arrested the 22-year-old owner of the dogs and he was taken to police cells where he was expected to be questioned today.
Officers also arrested a second man, aged 21 years, this afternoon on suspicion of allowing dogs to be dangerously out of control.
Tesco delivery man Mr Walker, 22, said: ‘We ran out when we heard these terrified screams -“get in the car, get in the car”.
‘Me and my mum went up the road and there were these two dogs running riot. They came up to attack me. I put my hand up and said don’t even think about it.
‘About six inches of the woman’s forearm was ripped open – you could see the bone – and the other man’s trousers were bright red with all the blood.
‘You could see it, he was dripping blood everywhere. I turned around and the black dog was attacking Dave but we both decided to wrestle the brown one to the ground.
‘It took two of us using all our strength – it was a powerful dog. It was just the adrenaline, when you’re in the situation you don’t even think about it.
‘We just wanted to make sure we protected everyone else because there was a large group of 30 children coming up the road.’
Mum Tracey Walker, 44, a Tesco worker, was bitten on the buttocks during the mayhem but managed to flag down a passer-by who provided a cage to thrust the violent animal into.
The first police officer on the scene then blasted the other, black coloured dog, which had been responsible for most of the carnage, with a fire extinguisher and chased it into a nearby garden.
It was later seized by a police dog unit.
Horrific: Ten people were rushed to hospital following the savage attack by the two escaped dogs. A police community support officers is pictured on patrol close to the scene of the attack
The brutal attacks began after the dogs escaped from their 22-year-old owner’s semi-detached house, in Marline Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea, and ran across the street, first attacking a husband and wife.
They first bit the woman on the bottom and then one sank its teeth into the back of the man’s leg, sending the pair dashing back through the wooden gate leading up the driveway to their home.
The husband, who asked not to be named, said: ‘They bit my wife on the backside and I pushed her through the gate towards our house. That’s when they got the back of my leg.
‘I knew if they got through they would do us as well. Then they ran down the road and started attacking more people.
‘It was mayhem – there was a bloke standing on his car roof, trying to get out of the way.’
The carnage quickly spread as the pets ran down the street and seized on a man walking along the pavement.
A woman in a black Ford Focus car rushed to his rescue, jumping out of the passenger door only to be mauled herself by one of the dogs, which was hanging off her arm.
As the dog knawed at her limb, stripping away the tissue, her daughter leapt out of the driver’s side of the car to try to help, only to be confronted with the angry animals.
All three leapt into the car in a bid to find safety, while the dogs continued their spree of destruction.
One man even climbed onto the roof of a car in a bid to stay out of the reach of the muscular canines.
Shocking: The drama happened when two dogs escaped from a garden and ran amok in Marline Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea, near Hastings, pictured
Attack: The brutal attacks began after the dogs, which are Staffordshire bull terriers crossed with American Bulldogs, escaped from their 22-year-old owner’s semi-detached house. This is a file picture of a Staffordshire bull terrier
Police said that for a time paramedics had to stand off from the scene, leaving the injured lying in the road and on the pavement while officers tried to corale the second animal after Mr Walker had subdued the first.
Armed police were dispatched to the scene but stood down on arrival as the animals had already been seized.
Barman Robert Glisson, 22, described how he went to help
frail pensioner Maggie Deeprose, 72 , to her home as she
struggled with her trolley when the dogs charged at her in neighbouring
Quebec Road.
‘She was very frail. I came out to give her a hand back to her home and these two dogs came out of nowhere.
‘They were jumping up at her and ripping her trolley. I got in front of
Maggie and put my arms around her, pushing her into one of the front
gardens.
‘She didn’t get bitten but I did. I was just thinking what limbs am I going to lose, what can I do to get them off me?
‘I ended up pressed back against a car bonnet and the dog was on top of
me. I got bitten on the leg as well. The whole experience was just
awful.’
His shocked partner Sonia Fuller, 39, an Asda cafe assistant, watched the horror unfold before her eyes.
Brutal: Three of the victims, aged between 20 and 50 years, were described as seriously injured in the attack. The incident was so serious armed police officers were called to the scene. This is a file picture
She said: ‘They had a whole street of people in fear. We weren’t
controlling them, they were controlling us because we were so scared.’
Neighbours later named one of the two men arrested as Jason Plaster.
Mr Plaster, the owner of the house from where the dogs escaped, did not
own the dogs himself, it was claimed.
A brunette who answered the door to his family’s bungalow in Park View,
in neighbouring Hastings, said: ‘They’re not his dogs. That’s all I’m
prepared to say, otherwise, no comment.’
She refused to identify herself but confirmed Jason Plaster was the man living at the address.
Inspector
Sarah Godley said: ‘This was an incredibly distressing incident for
everyone involved and quick work from members of the public and officers
at the scene meant that the incident was quickly brought under control.
‘Firearms
officers were deployed to the incident but they were stood down when it
became clear that the unarmed officers were able to get the dogs under
control safely.
‘We are now trying to establish exactly what has happened tonight and are keen to speak to anyone who witnessed the incident.
‘Officers remain in the area and I would encourage anyone with information or concerns to speak to them.’
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: ‘Ten local people, none of whom are children,
sustained a range of serious, but not life threatening bites, cuts and
scratches caused in the attacks in the street and were treated at the
Conquest Hospital.
‘None have been detained at hospital but three of the
ten, a woman and two men, have been referred for out patient treatment
at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead.’
The two dogs have been taken to secure kennels in the South East where they are being examined and assessed.
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