Plea for dogs' owner to come forward over Skegness beach attack

Dotty the Springer Spaniel had part of her ear ripped off in the attack. Mr Stephenson said

A dog lover whose pet was attacked by two other dogs has appealed for their owner to come forward after he was landed with a £2,000 vet's bill.

Lee Stephenson said he was walking Dotty, his springer spaniel, on Skegness beach on Saturday when she was attacked by two French mastiffs.

Mr Stephenson, whose leg was bitten in the attack, said a woman was later seen driving off with the two dogs.

Lincolnshire Police said officers were aware of the incident.

Mr Stephenson, who lives in Greater Manchester, said he was on a visit to see his mother-in-law at the Lincolnshire seaside resort when the attack happened.

He said he was walking on the beach with his seven-year-old niece when he spotted the two large dogs, which were not on leads.

"One of them shot off and attacked my dog. I jumped on my dog to cover it completely," he said.

"I can just see two heads, one on my right, one on my left. The two dogs are just coming in, attacking her."

Lee Stephenson said the attack on Skegness beach involved two French mastiffs, like the one pictured above

Dotty had part of her ear bitten off and was left with other wounds which needed expensive treatment by a vet, according to Mr Stephenson.

A jacket Dotty was wearing was also "torn to shreds" in the attack, he said.

Dotty had since recovered from her ordeal, Mr Stephenson said, but he added that he was worried about the long-term effect on her and his niece, who witnessed the whole incident.

He said he had also suffered from flashbacks.

"My main concern is finding this woman and getting her held responsible for her actions," he said,

"She shouldn't be in control of these two dogs. She clearly didn't have control of them on the day and she shouldn't have control of them in the future.

"We feel very, very lucky to have come back in one piece."