A "gentle" rescue dog has been left with four stitches in her neck while her owner has a £1,000 vet bill to pay after an unprovoked attack.

Dolly, who is 11, was about to go on her daily walk when she was set upon by another dog , metres from her front door, who "appeared out of nowhere".

Mark Jennings, of Ingress Park, Greenhithe, said: "I was just putting something in the car. Dolly was standing next to me and this dog just came around the corner, through the bushes and jumped straight onto Dolly.

"There was no provocation or fight. The dog didn't even bark. It was instant. Dolly had no idea it was coming. It got her around the neck."

Mark immediately lunged at the other dog and battled to prise it off his beloved pet but he said the vicious mutt wouldn't let go.

"As I tried to pull it off it was just digging its teeth deeper into her neck. I was wrestling with it on the floor for about five minutes. I was terrified it was going to bite me."

The woman with the dog was standing nearby in a car park, getting ready to leave, and Mark claims she made no attempt to help.

Mark said: "I approached her as it looked like she was just going to get in the car and drive off. She said the dog wasn't hers and she was looking after it as the owner was away.

"But it doesn't matter if she isn't the owner. She still needs to take the blame as she was looking after it."

Mark said he took pictures of the dog, which he thinks is a pitbull cross, and the woman's numberplate, but says she gave him a fake address and phone number for her friend.

"She did tell me she normally has a muzzle on the dog," he added.

Mark said he continued with his walk and it was only later, when he was driving to work with Dolly by his side, that he stroked her back and realised she was badly injured.

"There was sticky blood on my hand. I pulled her fur across and saw a really deep cut in her neck," he said.

Mark spent the next few hours at the vets, forking out more than £900 for the wounds to be stitched up.

Luckily Mark says Dolly, who is half labrador-half American bulldog, does not seem traumatised.

"I thought she might be a bit scared to go out and a bit wary around other dogs. But thankfully she is OK."

Mark now faces taking Dolly for numerous check-ups. "It's just more money," he said. "But she is my life. My absolute life.

"I've had her since she was two years old. She was so scared then but I've taught her how to trust people. She lets anyone stroke her now. Everyone loves her."

Mark says he has seen this dog around Ingress Park before and wants to warn others to be careful when they are out.

"There have been incidents with this dog before. It should be on a lead," he added.