A MOTHER and daughter have described their trauma after their beloved dog suffered horrendous eye injuries following a Rottweiler attack.

Vanessa Benson and her daughter Olivia were walking Bella, their Shih Tzu, in the park near Witham Cricket Club on Maldon Road.

Bella and her two companions, a Shih Tzu called Percy and a Lhasa Apso called Angel, were off the leads.

A man with a bigger dog on a lead, believed to be a Rottweiler, crossed their path and the dog lunged for Bella’s head.

Mrs Benson, 49, said: “The dogs were running ahead and stopping, I could see this man standing there with this dog on a lead.

“I asked if the bigger dog was safe, the man said yes and that he was a rescue, but the dog lunged at Bella.

“He grabbed her by the head, he just had his jaw locked on her.”

Mrs Benson said the owner was laying on the ground pulling the lead back to try and restrain the dog.

She said: “I was screaming hysterically.

“I had my hand in the dog’s mouth trying to get it open for a good two minutes.

“I thought Bella was dead. It was like a horror film.”

Her daughter Olivia, 23, had to protect Bella’s seriously injured eyes before taking her to Spring Lodge vets in Powers Hall End.

Mrs Benson, from Maldon Road in Witham, said: “She’s blind in one eye anyway, and it was a frantic call for help.

“She now looks like a goldfish, her eyes are wonky. She always had such beautiful eyes and didn’t deserve this.”

Police were contacted at 6.20pm on Monday.

A spokesman said: “We have been advised the dog needed veterinary treatment and the woman was seek- ing medical assistance for a hand injury.

“Officers are working to establish the identity of the other dog and its owner. Anyone with information should contact police on 101.”