A man was “left for dead” in the woods after being attacked by a rottweiler-type dog.

Nick Evans has lost feeling in one of his hands and suffered deep injuries to his hip, leg and wrist after the attack on private land near Burlings Lane in Knockholt, Sevenoaks.

The 31-year-old said: “I maintain a bike trail there and I’ve got full permission from the landowners to do so.

“I was there doing some maintenance and a lady came walking by with a rottweiler-type dog that wasn’t muzzled and she didn’t realise I was there.

“I popped up to say hello and the dog broke free from her grip, it just had a little lead on.

“It sniffed around me and I asked if it was safe and she told me not to touch him.

“I was backed up against a tree and the dog jumped on me and started biting me. It took a chunk out of my hip and chunks out of my leg, hand and wrist.

“I was on the floor with the dog on top of me wrestling it screaming and she was just standing there.”

Eventually, the dog owner managed to restrain her pet and she told Nick to get away.

She then jumped over a small wire fence with the dog, leaving him injured and bleeding on the floor.

His partner Romi Kite was caring for some horses in a nearby stable at the time and rushed over after she heard screaming.

She said: “The woman left him to bleed out in the woods and pretty much left him for dead.”

Nick managed to pull himself up and the pair attempted to follow the dog owner as she tried to leave.

He explained: “I was begging her for her details and she told me to get away, then threatened to set the dog on me if I didn’t leave her alone.

“At this point, I was bleeding so much and we had to go to the hospital.”

Nick went to A&E at Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington and ended up being fast-tracked due to the severity of his injuries.

He was referred to Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead the next morning for trauma plastic surgery.

He said: “I’ve suffered nerve damage in my right wrist and I had surgery. I’ve lost all feeling in my hand.

“The doctors said the feeling will come back but there's a chance it’s permanent damage.

“The cut went quite deep, its jaws went through me on two parts of my wrist. It was pretty traumatic.”

Nick, who lives in Sidcup, is a technician at a bike shop but is no longer able to work. He has been maintaining the trail in Knockholt for 13 years.

“I can’t cook, shower or dress myself at the moment,” he added.

“All my hobbies involve tools. I do car mechanics and restore classic cars as a hobby so I can’t do any of that.

“The doctors said the healing time should be around three months but to get full feeling back could be up to a year.”

He says that although his injuries were traumatic, he is glad there were no children in the area at the time.

He explained: “The landowner runs a child fostering agency for the farm so sometimes they do have several children on the farm.

“They had a Halloween hunt for that week so there were 20 kids and 15 adults walking through the same woods I got attacked in.

“That could have been catastrophic. If it had been one of them it would have been probably way worse.”

Police confirmed they were called just before 4.15pm on Wednesday, October 30 to a report of a man being bitten by a dog.

A spokesperson said: “Inquiries are ongoing into the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Nick said the dog-owner was white and between 45 and 60 with blonde hair. She was of medium build and around 5ft 6ins.

The dog looked to be a rottweiler, but he says it was likely mixed with another breed.

He added: “I’ve spoken to the landowners and they want to press charges on her as she was trespassing on their land.

“I’ve also spoken to a neighbour who might have CCTV so I’m hoping we’re able to get some images of the woman and that police will be able to track her down”.