It's Christmas on the sofa for Britain’s biggest dog after he breaks his TOE while out for a walk

It's going to be a quiet Christmas for Britain's biggest dog who will be spending the festive season on the sofa after breaking his toe.

Measuring a whopping seven-feet four inches in length, giant Samson damaged his front right paw after knocking it on the pavement few weeks ago.

And with Christmas just around the corner, the gargantuan dog - who weighs 20 stone - is out of festive cheer as he recovers at his home in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Bow wow ow: Julie Woods holds up Samson's poorly paw. The humongous hound will be spending Christmas on the sofa after apparently breaking his toe while out on walkies

Samson's doting owners, Ray Woods, a retired 69-year-old taxi-driver, and his wife Julie, 59, have been caring for the Newfoundland and Great Dane cross from their three bedroom semi-detached home in the North East.

Mrs Woods said: 'Samson was walking along on the way home from his morning walk.

'We were just two doors away when suddenly he yelped and started walking on three legs.

'We don’t know how he did it but he’s got a big lump there now. Ray had to hold him up to get him home.

'We had to put ice on his toe, then bathe it and bandage it. We’re sure he’s broken it, but we don’t have enough money to take him to the vet to get it x-rayed.'

This is not the first time that Britain’s biggest dog has found himself in a bind.

In 2008 Samson suffered damage to the ligament in his back leg and it was feared he may have to be put down because his ability to walk was so impaired.

He was only saved after a newspaper campaign successfully raised £4,000 for his treatment.

'We got him at six months-old and we’ve had him for seven years now,' said Mrs Woods. 'He’s a rescue dog who was originally owned by a couple and he came to us from the RSCPA.

'They were working all day and left him by himself so he virtually destroyed their house. But he’s wonderful with us - he’s got a temperament to die for.

'He really is the perfect dog. He walks without a lead, eats at the dinner table and loves sitting on the sofa like a human. More importantly, he’s never destroyed anything in our home.'

Doting owner: Mrs Woods gives Samson a cuddle. She has cared for Samson for six-and-a-half years and describes as the him as 'the perfect dog'

According to Julie, none of Samson’s eleven siblings have grown anywhere near his huge size and his parents were not especially large dogs. She believes his largeness is due to a peculiar combination of genes.

Despite his good natured personality, living with Britain’s biggest dog can have its problems.

'We have to have a six-foot high garden fence and make sure there’s nothing in the house Samson can knock into,' said Mrs Woods.

'He got stuck upstairs once - he went up and couldn’t get down again. After two hours of trying we thought we were going to have to call the fire brigade to winch him down.

'But we had one last go and managed to edge him onto the stairs and he ran down. He won’t go near stairs now.'

Big trouble: Samson in good health. The Woodses have a six-foot fence in their garden and have to take special care at home because of his immense size

Samson’s size and docile personality has made him a celebrity in his local area - and across the world. Mrs Woods said: 'Every time we go out with him he gets mobbed by people wanting to take his picture.

'Last week, before he was injured, we took him to market and the whole place practically shut down.

'All the market holders came out with their phones wanting to take pictures with him. It’s like that whenever we go out.

'We get people from across the country coming to visit relatives in the area and we get them coming over to pay Samson a visit.

'We had one gentleman come all the way over from Prince Edward island in Canada to see him. He stayed 20 minutes and went home again.