Heroic driver saves man from dog attack in Stamford Hill
The pitbull dog which attacked a man in Stamford Hill after it had been tied to a lam post by Vince Rostrum - Credit: Archant
A good Samaritan who saved a man from being savaged by a dog has been hailed a hero.
The pitbull terrier-type dog is thought to have leapt on Abraham Rosen, 24, locked its jaws around his arm and pulled him to the ground in Stamford Hill on Sunday, at about 6.20am by the junction with Holmleigh Road.
Crown Services UK recruitment agency driver Vince Rostron, 53, saw the attack unfold and pulled over his lorry to help Mr Rosen, who was on his way to Skver Synagogue.
He said: “The man was in the middle of the road screaming for help. It was like a horror movie. The man was covered in blood.
“The dog was hanging on to his arm – it was gruesome. Mine was just an instant reaction. You don’t take time to think. You just do what needs to be done.
“The dog had a collar and lead. I grabbed its lead and tried to wrap it around the lamppost so it could not get at anyone else. I was hanging on the lead for 10 minutes while I was waiting for police.”
He added: “I could not believe the number of people who were just driving and walking past the guy the dog was savaging – it was dumbfounding.”
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A spokesman for Hatzola ambulance services, which attended the incident, said: “There was a lot of blood. It was quite distressing.
“This could have been potentially fatal. He was lucky, there’s no doubt about that.
“The man who saved him was a hero.”
Chaim Hochhauser, a volunteer for Jewish community patrol Shomrim, who saw CCTV footage of the atatck, said: “We saw the dog run from the other side of the road and jump on his back. The man tries to get the dog off but it was pulling him down by his coat and then jumping on him and biting him.”
Mr Rosen needed 32 stitches following the attack.
Police seized the dog and it is now in kennels pending further enquiries.
A man and woman, both in their 20s from Stoke Newington, were arrested on suspicion of being responsible for a dog dangerously out of control in a public place and causing injury.
They have been given bail by police.
