Woman, 24, ‘thought she was going to die’ as she was mauled by three dogs in a park while passerby just stood there filming – as she reveals horrific injuries left her needing plastic surgery
- WARNING – CONTAINS DISTRESSING CONTENT
- Lakaydia Reynolds was attacked on June 6 while walking in Lambeth, London
- Footage of the incident was captured by a passerby and later posted online
A young woman says she ‘thought she was going to die’ as she was mauled by three dogs in a brutal attack filmed by a passerby.
Lakaydia Reynolds was walking through Abbots Park in Lambeth, south London, when the animals, which included a banned American Pitbull Terrier, set upon her.
The 24-year-old was left needing plastic surgery after the incident on June 6, which saw her receive bites and scratches on her face, legs and arm.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain today, Ms Reynolds revealed she is still in ‘excruciating pain’ after receiving nerve damage to her arm, and that she is unable to feel or move half of the limb.
The terrifying attack, which took place in broad daylight, was seen by a passerby who just stood their and filmed it instead of trying to help. The video was later posted online.
Lakaydia Reynolds was attacked while walking through Abbots Park in Lambeth, south London, on June 6
On Good Morning Britain today, Ms Reynolds revealed she thought she was going to die in the attack
Police have said the owner of the animals voluntarily handed them over to police and that one has since been put down, while the other two remain in kennels.
Ms Reynolds says the incident has left a shadow over her life and she has to deal with the prospect of potentially having permanent nerve damage in her arm.
Speaking on GMB to hosts Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway this morning after they showed footage of the attack on the programme, she revealed her terror during the incident, saying: ‘100 per cent, I thought I was going to die’.
READ MORE HERE: Terrifying moment screaming woman is attacked by two out-of-control dogs in small park as she is dragged to the ground while owner shouts ‘run’
Ms Reynolds said she had been walking through the park to meet a friend when she spotted the trio of animals on a lead close to their owner.
‘I’m not scared of dogs so I wasn’t fazed by it at all, so I continued my walk through the park and he eventually let two of them go and kept one on the leash,’ she said.
The ones who were off the lead then came up to her and despite thinking they were ‘playful’, she says she asked the owner to take them back as her friend was scared of dogs and she didn’t want them following her.
She said: ‘At first there was no response from the owner, so I had to repeatedly ask him to take his dogs and he eventually called them, but there was no response from the dogs.’
But then the animals suddenly attacked her, subjecting her to a horrific assault which was caught on video by a passerby.
Disturbing footage of the attack showed her screaming in agony as the animals jumped and bit her, with the vicious mauling continuing as she is wrestled to the ground when attempting to run away.
During the attack a man dressed in a black tracksuit could be heard screaming ‘run’ as he desperately struggles to hold the dogs back from her.
The injuries she received were so serious that Ms Reynolds spent a week in hospital.
‘I had scratches and bites on my face, my legs, my arm,’ she said.
‘I had really bad injury to my lip, so I’ve had stitches, I’ve had to get plastic surgery on it.
‘I also had to get plastic surgery to my right arm which is also my dominant arm.
‘It left me with ulna nerve damage which means I now can’t feel half my hand and half of my arm.’
Footage of the attack was later posted online, with video showing one dog jumping up and tearing into her arm
At one point the dog held on to her arm for more than 30 seconds as she desperately tried to pull away. She has since been told she has nerve damage in the limb
After trying to run away from the animals Ms Reynolds was pulled to the ground by the dogs
The owner – dressed in a black tracksuit with his hood up – could be seen shouting at her ‘run’ as he tried to control the dogs
She added she struggles to move her arm and that half of it is in ‘excruciating pain’, and can only hope things improve.
‘The doctors did say there’s age on my side, so fingers crossed there is hope that it will recover,’ she said.
‘But nerves don’t actually regenerate, they only repair, so whatever state my hand is at in a year-and-a-half is as far as it’s going to go.’
Ms Reynolds added she had been shocked to discover the video of the attack on the internet, saying it was a ‘sad reminder that nobody could help me’ and hit out that it was shared without her consent.
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She said: ‘I didn’t expect it to go on social media, which made it evident that this individual had shared it with other people. Though they may have been raising awareness I still don’t believe that it was the right thing to do because it was without my consent.’
Ms Reynolds has now called for stronger enforcement when it comes to laws on dogs, and admits the incident has ‘made me extremely cautious’ around them.
‘I think there has to be a lot of emphasis on responsible dog ownership and there needs to be a lot of focus on the dog owners as well,’ she said.
‘I think the government needs to focus on strengthening existing legislation surrounding the dangerous dog act.
‘They need to give police officers more power to actually get involved in situations and possibly seize dogs and enforce the use of muzzles and leashes for dogs in public.
‘I also think the public should be able to report incidents where they believe a dog could be potentially dangerous because it’s all about the public feeling safe as well.’
The Metropolitan Police has said it has since put down one of the dogs, with the other two remaining in kennels, and the owner is still under investigation.
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In a statement it said: ‘Police were called at 12.15pm on Tuesday, 6 June to reports that a woman had been attacked by dogs in Abbots Park, SW2.
‘Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service. The woman, aged in her 20s, was taken to hospital with an arm injury.
‘The owner of the dogs had left with the animals before officers arrived. He later contacted police on Wednesday, 7 June and voluntarily handed three dogs to officers. They were taken into police kennels.
‘The owner of the dogs was interviewed under caution on Thursday, 15 June and remains under investigation.
‘Following an extensive examination, one of the dogs was found to be a male American Pitbull Terrier, which is a prohibited type under S1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act. The owner was informed and decided to give up ownership; the dog was euthanised with the owner’s awareness and permission on 4 July.
READ MORE HERE: American Bulldog nearly tore off my ARM! Dog-walker suffers life-changing injuries after savage beast sunk its fangs into her flesh and refused to let go
‘We understand this update will be cause concern to people who have been following this case, and we can assure them that such decisions are not taken lightly. The examination and euthanisation of the animal was conducted by a veterinarian, and the Met’s Status Dog Unit consulted extensively. As a banned breed the risk to the public has to be considered and, given a woman had already sustained a serious injury to her arm, this was considered the most appropriate course of action.
‘The other dogs remain in police kennels at this time while further enquiries are carried out.’
It comes as Rishi Sunak vows to ban XL Bully dogs following a spate of attacks, including the deaths of children, that involved the breed.
According to NHS data there were a record 9,424 hospital admissions from dog attacks for 2022, a number that has risen by a third in a decade.
The XL Bully has been behind the majority of fatal dog attacks in the UK since 2021, being responsible for ten out of 14 of the fatal attacks.
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