Man's arm partly ripped off after he was attacked in High Pittington, near Durham, by his own bulldogs

They emerged from their homes to see 47-year-old Stephen Potts being dragged along the ground and “ripped to bits” by powerful American Bulldogs.

Bystanders tried in vain to use golf clubs and garden implements to stop the relentless attack in which the dogs tried to rip the arm off the owner's arm.

Last night Mr Potts remained in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle with serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. 

The terrifying scenes unfolded as Mr Potts of Low Pittington, near Durham City, took his dogs for a walk through nearby High Pittington.

As he walked down Priors Grange the dogs turned on him - apparently startled by nearby fireworks.

Eye-witness Alison Metcalf said: “About 9 o'clock I heard a lot of shouting which I thought was kids, so I ignored it. But it turned to be screaming and I thought I heard someone shouting help me.

“My husband came flying in and said there was a man in the middle of the road. Two of his dogs were walking towards us at which point my husband and I realised they were bulldogs.

“We flew back into the house. I ran upstairs to see exactly what was going on and immediately dialled the emergency services.

“The dogs had turned on their owner and they were dragging him around the road. They were ripping his clothes off him and just biting him.”

DOG DRAMA: The scene of the attack in Prior's Grange, High Pittington

She added: “They didn’t appear to be aggressive. They were wagging their tails.

“He sustained dreadful injuries that quite frankly a child or woman of a slighter build would never have survived.

“He had horrendous arm injuries, facial injuries and leg a injury.

Mrs Metcalf, pictured below, said the men who tried to help had been “very courageous”.

She said: “They came out with spades and golf clubs and tried to get the dogs off. There were two guys trying to ram the dogs with a cars.

“Eventually the dogs ran off and people were able to start treating the man.

“He was semi-conscious and was obviously in a lot of pain. They had almost ripped his arm off. He had dreadful injuries – puncture marks. He was just a mess.

“He was able to talk to people who helping him, including a young doctor and trained nurses who live nearby.

“Everyone just did the best for him. I really feel for the chap involved and his family – and everyone who witnessed it – it was an horrific attack.”

Neighbour Pauline Coatham, pictured below, said: “I heard some cars peeping and looked out the window.

“The woman across the way was out yelling and waving her hands and shouting for help.

“Somebody was trying to hit the dogs with his car.

“The man was on the ground. They were just mauling him and had pulled his jeans off. His arm looked very badly damaged. There was blood everywhere.”

Another witness, who did not wish to be named, said: “We heard fireworks go off. I don’t know whether they reacted to that.

“During the attack they looked like very calm dogs to me. They didn’t look as if they were frightened at all.

“My husband had his golf clubs out and my brother-in-law had garden implements and were hitting the dogs. Some people were trying to move the dogs with the wheels of their cars, but they didn’t budge.

“The dogs clearly knew what they were doing.”

She added: “The man was in a terrible shape. His arm was literally hanging off when we saw him. The dogs had pulled his clothes off too.”

Durham City Neigbourhood Inspector Dave Coxon said: “Officers were here within a few minutes, at which point the dogs had left the area.

“We located them fairly quickly.

“One of the dogs we managed to contain and get secured on a lead to get it away in police vehicle. The other dog, unfortunately because of its aggressive nature and demeanour, presented a danger to other members of the public - and officers so had to humanely destroy it."

Insp Coxon, pictured, praised residents' bravery for trying to fight off the dogs.

He said: “When you think about what they were watching - two large dogs attacking a man on the ground who was sustaining significant injury.

“For them to watch that must have been terrifying. And then to take steps to come out of their homes and actually approached the dogs and put themselves in danger. It is absolutely tremendous.

“I can’t praise people enough in terms of their actions.

“If they hadn’t acted as they did, who knows what we would be looking at this morning. So I think the victim and the family will be very grateful.”

He added: “There will be officers in the street to let people know what we did last night and reassure them there is no further danger to them.

“But, more importantly, we want to thank people who got involved in trying to rescue the man.”

Several American bulldogs remained at Mr Potts' kennels in Low Pittington.