A FATHER said he feared a dog which bit him and mauled his King Charles Cavalier would attack a child next.

Martyn Yates said he was left in tears after the unprovoked attack at Pembroke Recreation Ground in Moredon on Wednesday night.

Mr Yates, 28, of Abbey View Road, Moredon, was walking his two dogs at 10.15pm when a white German Shepherd went for his one-year-old dog Mia.

He said: “It was charging us. It was massive – it looked like a polar bear. It was really angry.

“It didn’t have a collar on so I couldn’t grab hold of it. I was screaming at it. I was terrified. I was trying to run away and it was just attacking us.

“I was crying afterwards because there was nothing I could do about it.”

Father-of-one Mr Yates said the dog had repeatedly attacked Mia and bit him on the hand.

The chef said he shouted for help and his partner and neighbours came out before the dog ran away.

He said Mia was left with three deep wounds to her back and a large tear on a joint in her leg, and Mr Yates said blood was pouring from his wound.

Mr Yates’ other dog Hugo was unharmed.

He took Mia to the Great Western Referalls veterinary centre, off Shrivenham Road, immediately, and has already received a bill from the vets for £950.

Mr Yates said he had been forced to cancel a family holiday in August to pay the charge and was still waiting to hear if his pet’s stomach had been punctured.

He added he was unimpressed with the police handling of the attack, as he claimed he had been given mixed messages about whether an officer would attend the scene and whether he should confront the owner of the dog, whose address he had been told by neighbours.

He said: “The police haven’t been very helpful.

“The dog was on it’s own – it’s lethal. Animals like that shouldn’t be allowed out on their own – there are always children in the park and if the dog is that malicious to another animals it is only a matter of time before it goes for a child.”

No-one from Swindon Police was available to comment.