TWO large runaway dogs which randomly attacked a man in north Carlisle as he walked to work were 'out to kill', a court was told.

The frightening ordeal endured by victim Keith Reynolds began shortly before midnight on January 11 when the two dogs involved – a Rottweiler and a German Shepherd – ran at him as he walked from Lowry Hill Road to Kingstown Road.

The dogs forced Mr Reynolds to the ground and attacked him. He suffered a bite wound to one knee and a much deeper wound to a buttock.

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Over the course of several minutes passers-by courageously tried to intervene and a police officer who was sent to the scene had to kick one of the dogs as it continued repeatedly trying to attack both Mr Reynolds and other people who were nearby.

Motorists beeped their horns to scare away the dogs.

In court, 20-year-old Shane Reid, formerly of Penton, north of Carlisle, admitted being the owner of the two dogs when they were dangerously out of control and injured a person.

Pam Ward, prosecuting, read from the victim’s detailed account of the attack. He described how he has been calmly walking to work when he saw the dogs, running loose on Kingstown Road, apparently unsupervised.

“The two dogs ran at me, showing their teeth and growling,” he said.

They then pushed him to the ground and bit him, ripping his trousers. Mr Reynolds covered his face as the dogs stood over him with the German shepherd in front of him and the Rottweiler behind him.

As he lay still, a passing motorist stopped and tried to help him, prompting the dogs to run after that man, though they repeatedly returned to Mr Reynolds. The Good Samaritan had got out of his car but at one point felt so threatened he dived back into his car to protect himself.

Witnesses said Mr Reynolds did nothing to provoke the dogs.

The police officer at the scene said the dogs were 'unpredictable'. Describing himself as competent around dogs, he said he felt he had to kick one of the dogs in the mouth to protect himself.

“I am competent with dogs but I didn’t trust these two dogs because of the aggression they were showing towards me,” said the officer.

The Good Samaritan who helped Mr Reynolds said the dogs continued to snap and growl at him.

“I do believe that they were out to kill; I have never come across anything like this before," he said. I can’t imagine the traumatic experience of the victim. This incident affected me and made me worry about all dogs.”

Mr Reynolds needed hospital treatment for his wounds and spent months on crutches as a result of the ankle injury he sustained when he was knocked to the ground. In total, he reported he had lost more than £5,000 in earnings as a result of the attack.

He later recognised the two dogs when he saw them on Facebook after they were reported missing, he told police.

Mr Reynolds added: “I believe that these dogs were dangerous and need to be destroyed. It could have happened to somebody more vulnerable than me, such as a child or an elderly person.”

Mrs Ward said there would be a claim for compensation for the victim; the prosecutor also pointed out that since the attack the two dogs had been housed in kennels at a cost of £1,200.

John Smith, defending, said that the defendant, who has no previous convictions, had been guilty of a momentary lapse. The lawyer said: “He [Reid] was exercising the dogs in a field on the other side of Junction 44 of the motorway, near to Houghton.

“The dogs were spooked by another dog and then got lost.”

It was as a consequence of his girlfriend’s Facebook appeal for the dogs that somebody contacted him to confirm they had been seized by police on Scotland Road. Mr Smith added that Reid did not agree with everything the prosecution had said.

Magistrates ruled that the defendant – now living at Kirkpatrick Fleming in Scotland – should be sentenced by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court.

They adjourned the case until a hearing at that court on May 3. Mr Smith said Reid would ask a dog behaviour expert to compile a report to make the case for the two dogs to not be destroyed.