A GORSE Hill man has urged pet owners to keep their dogs on leads after watching a squirrel mauled to death.

Geoff Cook, 62, of Northern Road, was walking in Lawn Woods when he witnessed the attack.

A knee-high black dog rushed passed him at around 10.30am on this morning, chasing a grey squirrel.

The dog was seen catching the squirrel in its jaws, then apparently shaking it to death.

“The squirrel was on the ground and twitching,” said Geoff, who is semi-retired.

“I asked its owner, ‘Do you think this is right?’ She said: ‘It’s a tin of dog food I don’t have to use’ – or words to that effect.

“I was dismayed by the attitude of the woman.”

Geoff, who walking to Old Town after a dental appointment, said: “I was quite disgusted by what I saw.”

He believes that dog owners should keep their dogs on leads, to prevent similar attacks on wildlife.

“I think they ought to keep their dogs on leads,” he said.

“The attack just didn’t seem right in a public place, where there are children about.”