A man was in a 'serious' condition in hospital after being mauled by a neighbour’s dog in Sheepridge.
The man, named locally as David, was thought to have been savaged by a neighbour’s Staffy-type dog as he tried to protect his own small terrier.
Neighbours who witnessed the horror described how the victim was left unconscious and bleeding heavily.
One witness said David, in his 50s, must have “lost half his body weight in blood.”
Shocked neighbours threw David a kitchen knife urging him to stab the Staffy-labrador cross as it locked its jaws around him.
When police arrived an officer bravely tackled the bloodied dog with a fire extinguisher.
The dog – a bitch named Alex – was later seized and taken away.
The drama happened at about 9.45am at a flat in Riddings Road, Sheepridge.
Residents told how they heard the man’s screams and a neighbour, who did not wish to be named, was one of the first on the scene.
“It was horrific,” she said. “I was shaking like a leaf for a good while afterwards. We were all just helpless.”
The mum-of-two said she was scared for her own children and desperately rang the dog’s owner, who lives in a flat above the victim.
“The owner was at work but he came home within five minutes,” she said. “As soon as he shouted: ‘Alex’ the dog just went straight into her kennel.
“I got the owner here and I think I might have saved the man’s life by doing that. He might not have made it otherwise.”
Neighbours told how Alex was kept in a wooden pen or enclosure in the yard outside the block of four flats overlooking the multi-use games area (MUGA) in Riddings Road.
The dog was usually tethered up but it was not clear whether Alex broke her chain or was roaming free.
It is thought Alex chased David’s terrier into his flat and David confronted the animal just inside the doorway.
He was said to be bitten on the arm, leg and head. It is understood he collapsed and was rushed to hospital by ambulance with a police escort.
His condition has been described as “serious.”
Neighbours Jamie Hanson, 24, and Zoe McDonald, 23, told how they were in bed at the time of the attack. At first they thought the screams were from children playing in the street.
A frantic neighbour then called at their home asking for a knife. They handed over a kitchen knife which was thrown to David to defend himself.
Another neighbour yelled at him to stab the dog but he didn’t.
Jamie said: “The guy just ended up passing out. He was unconscious, the poor guy. They threw him the knife but he wouldn’t use it.
“When the police came an officer used a fire extinguisher from the car to get the dog off.”
Det Insp Stef Wiseman, of Kirklees CID, said enquiries were at an early stage and officers still had to speak to the victim.
A police spokesman added: “A man who is believed to be the owner of the animal has been arrested in connection with the incident and remains in police custody.”
