Pitbull savages Wolverhampton cyclist in horror attack
A 61-year-old man was savaged by a dog when it jumped up at him while he was riding his bicycle – only managing to release the dog's grip from his face by putting his fingers in its mouth.
Stanley Ingleton needed 15 stitches to his cheeks following the brutal attack by the pitbull in Bilston on Saturday morning.
Mr Ingleton, of Wilkins Road, said the dog jumped up at him and bit him on the face just an inch from his eyes.
The owner of the dog, a man in his mid-twenties, ran to assist Mr Ingleton, calling on his friend to help – but he was too frightened to go over, according to Mr Ingleton's wife.
"I was just minding my own business, I never interfered with the dog or anything like that and then I turned my head and the dog was running towards me like a bullet from a gun – there was nothing I could do about it. I managed to get my fingers in his mouth to force him to let me go but by then it was too late," said Mr Ingleton.
His wife Jennifer, aged 61, added: "The owner was also thumping the dog to try and get him to release my husband's face.
"Once the dog had got off him, the owner and his friend got in a car and drove off. My husband didn't recognise them at all," she said. After the attack in Prouds Lane, Mr Ingleton was helped by someone who lived nearby who had seen what had happened.
"I'm so grateful for them taking my husband in" Mrs Ingleton said. "They stayed with my husband before the ambulance and I arrived. I don't know what he'd have done without their help.
"I've since taken them a thank you card and some flowers," she said. Mr Ingleton was taken to New Cross Hospital and received 15 stitches, particularly in his cheeks and under the eyes.
"Now I just feel so weak in my body, my eyes are constantly weeping water because he got so close to my eyes," he said. "I'm absolutely petrified to go outside now, there are too many dogs out there. I just want the dog found so this doesn't happen again."
West Midlands Police interviewed Mr Ingleton where he was able to identify the dog as a pitbull and give a statement to try and identify the owner. "The police showed us photographs of different dogs and Stanley identified the pitbull type – with the slender body and the large face. We just want to find out who is responsible for the animal so that this doesn't happen to anyone else" Mrs Ingleton said.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "Police are investigating after a man was bitten by a dog on Prouds Lane just after 10am on Saturday. Officers are trying to obtain CCTV which may have covered the incident in an effort to trace the dog's owner."
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
