A parish council chairman fought off two out-of-control Staffordshire Bull Terriers attacking his young pet by biting one of the dogs himself, a court heard.

Anthony Gabbott also suffered broken bones in his right hand after he repeatedly punched one of the attackers in a bid to defend his German Shepherd puppy called Dougie.

Chester Crown Court heard the owner of the terriers, Sarah Southern, had ignored a court ruling ordering her to muzzle them and watched as they pounced on Dougie during an afternoon stroll.

The four-month-old puppy was dragged 12 feet away from its master and badly mauled on the side of its face. Dougie also suffered fractured ribs.

Mr Gabbott, 56, a certified financial planner for a wealth management firm and chairman of Plumley with Toft and Bexton Parish Council punched one of the terriers and bit its ear in a bid to drive it away.

He was said to be "very upset and shaken up" after the incident last June 9 on a country lane in the village of Plumley, near Knutsford, Cheshire and he went to hospital whilst vets carried out almost £2,000 worth of surgery to save Dougie.

Southern, 42, who runs her own mobile beauty salon left the scene without giving her name but was traced after Mr Gabbott's daughter posted an appeal on Facebook.