A MAN is warning people to be vigilant after he was bitten by a dog off the lead in Greenlands recently.

Greenlands resident Kevin Jago was walking along the enclosed path between Deer Park Lane and Meavy Way, around the time the St Peter’s Junior School day ended, when a dog that was not on a lead approached him and bit him on the thigh.

Kevin said: ‘The path is a popular access route to Greenlands and all the school children use it to get to and from school. A man and a dog were walking along, the dog was off the lead, and the dog came running up to me and bit me. I have teeth marks on my thigh.

‘It’s a confined path, about 4 ft wide with with a fence on either side so there was no way of avoiding it.’

Mr Jago described the man as middle-aged and the dog was a medium-sized greyhound shape with black, white and tan colouring.

‘When I approached the man he denied it had happened and carried on walking — he didn’t even put the dog on the lead then and there were children walking up at the time.

‘There are no signs up there saying dogs should be on leads — I was thinking about going and making some myself. The fact that children use the path everyday and there are no signs is awful. That path is also always covered in dog mess and nothing ever seems to get done about it. It seems like no-one cares. Some people’s attitudes with dogs are appalling.’

Mr Jago said he reported the incident to the police but was told they were unable to do anything without the man’s name and address.

A West?Devon?Borough Council spokesperson said: ’Some areas are designated as a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) and therefore require a dog to be kept on a lead at all times. The Greenlands path is not part of a PSPO and therefore there are no requirements for dogs to be kept on a lead. Dangerous dogs are dealt with by the police.’