A MAN was left fearing for his life after he was attacked by a dog that he was walking in Southampton.

Nathan Burton, a 26-year-old self employed gardener from Townhill was out walking his dog and his friends dog last Thursday when the attack happened.

Nathan was walking along Montgomery Road with his partner at around 8.30pm when his friend’s dog, an American Bullmastiff started attacking his own Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

He then decided to break it up but was left thinking he was going to die when the friend’s dog turned on him, biting the back of his head and “pinning” him down.

After around three minutes, Nathan managed to pull himself back up and get on top of the dog, but this was when he noticed the amount of blood.

An ambulance and police were called and he was rushed to Southampton General Hospital to undergo surgery.

He claimed he had lost three pints of blood, and was left with gashes to the back of his head, and both ears, as well as a pierced artery resulting in three haemorrhages.

Nathan said: “When the dog went for me he wasn’t interested in the other dog. I’ve been around dogs all my life but I’ve never experienced anything like that.

“All I kept shouting was that I was going to die and that there was so much blood. That’s all that was going through my head.”

He added that this was about the third time he had taken this dog out and he had never caused any trouble before.

Police have now launched an investigation into the attack.

A police spokesperon said: “We are investigating a report of a man in his 20s being bitten by a dog in Montgomery Road.”

Having been discharged from hospital at the weekend, Nathan is now recovering, but said he is now dealing with the mental damage that has been caused.

He said: “Even when I’m asleep, I close my eyes and all I see is the dog and its big head just clamping down. It’s put me off dogs for life. I’m a big animal lover but this has put me a big step back.”