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A nine-year-old girl was thrown off a horse into the sea after an out-of-control dog attacked the animal on Cleethorpes beach.

The boxer dog was trying to bite at the neck and tail of the horse.

The drama was captured on mobile phone footage which GrimsbyLive is showing to highlight the frequent gauntlet horse riders face because of dogs being let off their leads.

Dogs are not banned from Cleethorpes beach at this time of year.

But owner of Cottagers Plot Riding School, Sophie Brown said the dog attack could have ended in tragedy. She urged owners to keep their pets under control.

(Image: Jon Corken/GrimsbyLive)

She said: "Luckily the young rider didn't suffer any physical injury. But she is now petrified when there are dogs around. It is a shame."

She told how the Boxer dog chased after the group of horses and riders, who all pulled up after a short chase.

The dog attacked one of the smaller horses, biting at its legs and tail. The horse called, Iggy, turned quickly, throwing off its young rider into the sea.

Sophie said the owner did nothing to try to bring the dog under control and it was another dog walker who managed to grab it, put a lead on it and return it to its owner.

(Image: Jon Corken/GrimsbyLive)

She added: "He hadn't wanted to go after his dog because he had smart trainers on and had not wanted to get them wet."

She said: "The girl quickly got back on Iggy (the horse). We will be continuing to use the beach for our rides. It provides excellent conditions for the horses and riders. The salt water is ideal for the horses."

The Laceby stables' manager urged all dog owners to be careful in future.

She said: "If your dog is likely to harass horses then keep it on a lead. On this occasion none of our horses reacted by kicking out."

Sophie said a dog could easily get seriously injured or killed if a horse kicked out with its hooves. She said it was not unusual for dogs to chase her horses on the beach.

Her stables looks after horses for the Riding for Disabled Association.

(Image: Jon Corken/GrimsbyLive)

Eyewitness Julie Dunlop said she saw the "distressing incident" on Cleethorpes beach.

She said: "The Boxer's owner clearly didn't have recall over as it charged over to our dog and another small dog on a lead which was scared, but the owner didn't seem that bothered.

"A group of horses and riders were out on the mudflats. The boxer started chasing them. Eventually the horses stopped because the boxer wasn't giving up and it then started trying to go for the horses. A young girl on her horse then fell off when attacked by the dog. Meanwhile the owner is just walking along the beach, not even running to try and stop his dog.

"It took another guy and one of the other horse riders to eventually get hold of the dog. The owner wouldn't go out to where they were as I don't think he wanted to get his feet wet and just waited for the other guy to bring him his dog. The owner then walked off without even apologising or checking the girl was alright. Unbelievable behaviour."

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Dogs are only banned from the main beach at Cleethorpes between Good Friday and September 30.

A North East Lincolnshire Council spokeswoman said: “Fortunately, this is not something that is reported often to us as the majority of dog owners do keep their dogs under control.

“We would like to remind dog owners that they are responsible and it is against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control in a public place.

“A dog is considered dangerously out of control if it injures someone or makes someone worried that it might injure them.

(Image: Jon Corken/GrimsbyLive)

“A court could also decide that a dog is dangerously out of control if either of the following apply: it attacks someone’s animal or the owner of an animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop a dog attacking their animal."

Incidents can be reported to the beach safety team on 01472 323556.

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