'The dog had me by the neck and pulled me backwards'

Victoria said she was bitten by a Rottweiler similar to the one pictured in this stock image

A woman has been left suffering from nightmares and may need a skin graft after she was bitten on the arm in a "terrifying" dog attack.

Victoria told the BBC she had been attacked during a confrontation between her dog and a large Rottweiler on Friday in Kings Park, Bournemouth.

A witness described her being dragged "for a few metres" when the animal grabbed her by a scarf around her neck.

Victoria said she had been bitten in the back of her arm and went to hospital with a four-to-five inch wound that required nine stitches.

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Dorset Police said it was investigating after a report of a woman being attacked by a dog on Friday.

Before the attack Victoria said she had been approached by man and a large dog between the football pitches and the running track at Kings Park.

"When he saw me he stopped, which isn't uncommon for dog owners when they leash their dog, and that's what I thought he'd done," she said.

When they crossed paths, she said the Rottweiler went for her dog, so she asked the man to keep hold of it as she tried to walk away.

She said: "Then I felt my scarf tighten around my neck and I couldn't breathe for a few seconds, it was really scary.

"I was lying on the floor on top of my dog to try and protect her, so I put my arm out to cover my head and it bit me on the arm."

Doctors have told Victoria if her stitches do not heal properly, she will need a skin graft

She said the man had had to use his entire bodyweight and an arm around its neck to restrain his dog.

"That dog was coming back for more," she said.

Victoria is self-employed and said she had been told she currently could not drive, which meant she was unable to work.

"It's affected my life. And when you have a big dog coming up towards you like that, it's just terrifying," she said.

"I'm having trouble sleeping. I get nightmares. I haven't walked my dog properly since - apart from around the block. It's had a big effect on my life."

An eye-witness told the BBC they had also been attacked in Kings Park on a separate occasion.

Victoria said: "This dog is regularly being walked without [a lead or collar]. I've had people message me since, saying it's attacked them in the past."

She said she was not looking for the dog to be destroyed, but thought it needed to be monitored, which was the responsibility of its owner.

"I've made a fuss about this because there's three local schools that back onto that park and he's walking the dog at times where the kids go in and out," she added.