A dog owner feared for her pet’s life when it was set upon by two bull mastiffs, a court heard.

Susan Matthews was walking along St Vincents Lane, Addington, near West Malling golf course, when the attack happened in August.

Magistrates heard the large dogs, which belonged to 54-year-old Lee Scriven, came towards her through the undergrowth after escaping from their garden in Sandy Lane.

The black bull mastiff, an eight-year-old called Bella, grabbed Mrs Matthews’ pet by the neck as it was urinating on the floor, while the other, tan-coloured, dog was nearby growling.

Distressed, she tried to intervene but feared they would attack her. She then ran home to get help from her husband.

Andrew Jones, prosecuting, said Mrs Matthews’s pet was traumatised and suffered with diarrhoea for several days. She also spent £119 on veterinary treatment following the ordeal.

Scriven, who represented himself in court, said the bull mastiffs escaped after children pushed down a boundary fence on his property.

He said he did not walk the dogs because they had enough land at his home, but he had since erected a brick wall and spent nearly £50,000 making the garden secure.

He apologised for what had happened but said his pets had only been gone for a matter of minutes and alleged that Mrs Matthews’ dog was being treated for sunstroke, not trauma.

The bench heard Scriven’s tan coloured mastiff had since escaped again after digging a 3ft hole beneath the fence, and had been hit and killed by a car.

At Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on Friday he pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control.

Scriven was given a £120 fine and ordered to pay £115 in court costs. Magistrates did not impose a dog control order, and said compensation was not appropriate as it was unclear whether the injured dog’s vet treatment had come as a direct result of the attack.