A RETIRED deputy headteacher suffered serious injuries as she defended her dog when he was attacked in the street by a white bull terrier near her home.

Jean Macleroy, 80, of Dale Street, Bacup, had been walking her dog Buster at about 6.15pm yesterday .

She said: "I always take him out at about that time and as I was walking along I heard someone call the name Tyson.

"Then the dog just appeared out of the darkness of Fern Street and started on my dog.

"I had visions of him killing Buster and so I did everything I could to get between them."

In the struggle, Miss Macleroy, a former deputy head and French teacher at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, was bitten on both hands by the white bull terrier.

And because she would not let go of her dog's lead she was pulled to the floor face first, cutting her nose and legs.

She said: "I just yelled for help but I couldn't do anything until I could get up.

"I had hold of the bull terrier by the tail.

"There were several people who came to help including my neighbour Jim Schofield and he told me to let go and he hit the dog with a baseball bat and it ran off."

Neighbours accompanied Miss Macleroy to Rochdale Infirmary and stayed with her while a deep cut in her left hand and badly bruised and punctured right hand were dressed. She was finally back home at 11pm last night.

Today Buster was limping but otherwise unhurt.

Police have seized the dog and a spokesman said it was being held in a kennels pending further inquiries.

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