A dog is recovering after getting an electric shock from a faulty lamppost.

Matthew Langdon’s two-year-old cross Staffordshire bull terrier, Diesel, was left yelping and shaking after brushing past the damaged post off Royal Road, Sheerness, between the leisure centre and swimming pool.

Mr Langdon, 24, an apprentice at Kemsley Paper Mill, was taking Diesel for his evening walk on Wednesday at around 7.30pm.

He said it was a shock in more ways than one. “As he passed the lamppost, he brushed up against it and then he just jumped, yelping loudly, in the opposite direction,” Mr Langdon said.

“This lasted for a few seconds and he was left visibly shaking and whimpering for a while after.

“I took him home and, for a long time after the shock, his ears were back and his tail was between his legs where he was still shaken from what had happened.”

Mr Langdon, who lives in Eastchurch, has been keeping a close eye on his pet since it happened.

He is now calling on Swale council, which is responsible for the lamppost, to make the route safer for dogs and children.

“Surely live components should have secure coverings that are tamper-proof?” Mr Langdon said.

“Plus, the post had no light on the top as it had been removed or damaged, so why is it still live?

“The post should be removed or modified accordingly as it poses a severe hazard to an area frequently used by families.”

The council, which initially said it was Kent County Council’s lamppost before finding it did belong to Swale, said it would take care of the problem.

A spokesman said: “This is the first report we’ve had about damage to this lamppost and we’re taking immediate action to make it safe until electrical contractors can come out and provide a permanent fix.

“We are also trying to contact the dog owner to discuss what happened and reassure him we are working to make the lamppost safe.

“We urge anyone who sees damage on our property to report it to us – we’d much rather have several people reporting the same issue to us than assume we know already and somebody getting hurt.”