A WOMAN was left frightened and shaking after a man set his dog on her German Shepherd.

The lady was walking her dog along a footpath in Epping Forest near Abridge when she saw a couple coming towards her.

She said: “He was staring right at me and all of a sudden he called his dog and this Staffordshire Bull Terrier jumped up the bank from the water and it came straight for my dog and attacked him.

"The man just stood there laughing. I was hitting the dog with a walking stick and he stood there doing nothing.”

The woman eventually managed to pull the dog away from her pet which had its fur ripped away from its body.

She said: “My dog started to run home and I turned to the man and said 'what is wrong with you?' He started laughing and got hold of his dog and said 'good girl, go and finish her off.'

"I was really frightened and I was shaking. My dog was terrified, he's 12-years-old and very placid and didn't retaliate at all.

"I called the police but they told me that they don't deal with dog fights, and I said he set his dog on me. I always thought that if I called 999 then someone would come and help, especially as I was on my own.”

A police spokeswoman said they were looking into the incident.