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A blind man has told how he is afraid to leave his home after his guide dog was attacked by another dog in the street.

Derek Thomas, 72, said someone's pet lunged and barked at his guide, Sutty, near a pedestrian crossing in Formby, Merseyside.

Sutty was terrified and almost led Mr Thomas into a lamppost, and the guide is now anxious when he encounters other dogs.

Mr Thomas told the Liverpool Echo:"Sutty and I were walking down the road, heading towards the pedestrian crossing when a dog lunged at him, making him very scared.

"Distracted and upset, Sutty then walked straight past the crossing we should have stopped at and led me straight towards a lamp post.

(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

"This was a big thick lamp post and I could have been very hurt.

"Thankfully he got be around it just in time but he was too anxious to cross the road."

Mr Thomas is fully blind after suffering complications of diabetes, and he relies on Sutty for his independence.

(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo) (Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

He said: "I started losing my sight in 2004 and got Sutty 18 months ago.

"He has been incredible for me in terms of keeping independent and getting out of the house but incidents like this make us both very stressed."

In another recent incident, two dogs "barked and snarled" at Sutty as Mr Thomas and his guide tried to enter a chemist.

He said: "Sutty got me safely the whole way from my house to the door of the chemist but outside was a person who had two small dogs on leads.

(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

"The dogs barked and snarled at Sutty but the owner did not move them out of the way and my dog wouldn't pass them to get in the door.

"A lady, who saw what happened, helped us into the door of the chemist and reportedly told off the owner for not pulling his dogs out of Sutty's way so he could do his job."

Mr Thomas is speaking out to make others aware of guide dogs and to call on dog owners to make sure their pets are under control and to be respectful of service animals.

He said: "Often people's animals are not well trained, meaning they have little control over their behaviour.

"I would ask them that if they can't control them, at least keep them out of our way.

"I think a lot of people have a lack of understanding about guide dogs and how they work but some people are just ignorant to it."