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A father has described the terrifying moment he had to fight off a dog that was trying to attack his children in Torquay.

The man, who did not want to be named, was taking his five-year-old daughter and his son, aged three, for a walk around the Cricketfield Road Recreation Ground near Torquay Academy last week when the drama unfolded.

He says the dog knocked his son to the ground and then turned on his daughter when he dragged it off.

The animal was off its lead at the time - despite signs instructing owners to keep them on the leash at all times.

"They were running around having fun, laughing and joking. I was looking at my daughter and I heard my son scream," he said.

"A terrier-type dog had knocked him down. I pulled the dog off him as he was screaming. I pulled it off and it went for my daughter instead.

"I got between them but it kept on at us until the owners came – they were over 200m away. They were not bothered when they finally came over. Their dog kept growling at me the whole time.

"Fortunately neither of them were bitten, but they were knocked down and very scared. My daughter had mud on her face from where she fell and my son had mud on his face too.

"We were very shaken up, but the owners were not at all bothered. I said there was a sign saying to keep dogs on leads but they just said ‘everyone does it.'"

He says this is not the first such incident that he has witnessed at the recreation ground.

Only a matter of weeks ago, he claims he saw a large dog attack a poodle. The woman who owned the small dog was then reportedly injured trying to protect her pet.

He is now appealing for owners to be more responsible and keep their animals on their leads in accordance with the signs.

"I phoned the council and was just sent round in circles referring me to different departments," he said.

"I called the police and got a crime number but they said they did not have the manpower to look into it, despite me getting the name of the man.

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"The council does not seem to take any action. What will it take for them to police it and send the dog warden over? A more vicious dog and it could be really nasty."

"Now, we look at the field and we do not go on it if there are lots of dogs there. We only go if there are no dogs," he added.

Speaking about the incident, a Torbay Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident and are making enquiries.”

A Devon and Cornwall Police statement said: "Police were notified of an incident on Friday 11 October which happened on the cricket field in Torquay at midday.



"Officers received a report that a dog had attempted to bite a man. The owner of the dog then approached and put the dog on a lead."