Man suffers broken rib after being knocked to ground by ‘out-of-control’ dogs on St Annes beach

Nick Alsop, 67, was out at noon on Saturday measuring the gales of Storm Hannah when he was set upon by two large muzzled dogs that were running free on the beach.

He said: “There were two people on the beach quite a way away and they had two dogs that were running free. I turned towards the wind, not looking at them, and unbeknown to me these dogs must have started running towards me at full pelt, and the next thing I know they both hit me.

“I went down like a sack of spuds. The dogs jumped at me, barking, and at this point I thought ‘thank goodness’ because they were both muzzled.”

After being left alone by the dogs, Mr Alsop, who lives in Prestwich and was visiting relatives in St Annes, made his way onto North Promenade before collapsing with chest pain. He was found a short time later by a passing dog walker, who called an ambulance just before 12.30pm.

But the ambulance did not arrive after an hour and a half and Mr Alsop was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital by police.

The dad-of-two was treated for a broken rib, and must now take six weeks off work while he recovers.

He says he believes he spoke to the male owner of the two dogs, which he believes were Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and hopes to track him down.

However, he said the phone number given to him by the man did not work when he tried to call it.

He said: “I like dogs and I am not scared of dogs, but these particular dogs were out of control and were nowhere near their owners. I didn’t have a chance to do anything. They were muzzled for a reason.

“I will at some point hopefully find the guy. I’m not for trying to bump the dogs off, but he needs to learn how to control his dogs.”

A North West Ambulance service spokesman said Mr Alsop’s 999 call was assigned a ‘category three’, which means ambulance crews aim to arrive within two hours. As police arrived before that time and helped Mr Alsop, the ambulance was cancelled.

The incident was reported to the police and the Fylde dog warden, who can be reached on (01253) 658658.