A university professor says he was attacked and badly bitten by a dog running loose in a city centre park.

Glenn Bowman suffered a deep wound to his forearm after being set upon by a Staffordshire bull terrier in the Dane John Gardens in Canterbury.

He had been walking his own one-year-old terrier on a lead on Monday afternoon when he says the Staffie raced aggressively towards them.

“There is no doubt in my mind that it wanted to attack my dog and I kicked out in an attempt to protect her,” he said.

“It was then that it jumped up and bit into my arm.”

Mr Bowman, an emeritus professor of socio-historical anthropology at the University of Kent, says the dog was with a group of people in the park.

“They should have been making sure their dog was under control,” he said.

“If it was a child or an elderly person, the outcome could have been far worse.”

Mr Bowman called police at the time of the incident to report that a dog running loose had bitten him, but says they did not attend.

The group with the dog subsequently left the scene.

Mr Bowman went to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital for treatment.

He is now calling for greater enforcement to ensure dogs are not able to run loose in the gardens and present a risk to the public.

Police Sgt Lee Thompson said: “Dog owners are reminded that it is against the law to allow your dog to be dangerously out of control, this includes the dog injuring someone, or making someone worried that they might be injured.

“It also includes where the dog is used in an anti-social manner.”

Anyone who has information about the incident should call police on 01843 222 289 quoting reference ZY/041118/18.