A Rottweiler who escaped his Deptford home and attacked a passerby was beaten away by an elderly lady with a walking frame.

The dog bit Susan Harris on the arm and flung her to the ground as she walked her cancer-suffering Staffordshire bull terrier through an alleyway off Ship Street on November 13 last year.

The victim told Bexley Magistrates’ Court yesterday (March 27) how she was hurled over her own dog in a “horror movie” scene before an elderly lady rescued her with her walking frame.

Ms Harris said: “After the dog had sniffed my dog, all of a sudden, it jumped and took a bite of my arm.

“It pulled me over the top of my Staffie and I ended up on the floor.

“It was a terrible thing to go through.

“It was like a horror film. I was screaming for help, no one helped me.

“Then a lady backed the dog off with her walking frame.”

Ms Harris was left with two puncture wounds to her arm and bruising on her elbow.

Her dog also died a few weeks later from lung cancer.

Rottweiler owner Jean Davies, of Vanguard Street, had momentarily left a six-foot garden gate open when four-year-old Alfie, who weighs nine and a half stone, escaped.

The 62-year-old pleaded guilty on January 20 to allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place but disputed the injury claim.

She argued “lovely, calm” Alfie, who has joint problems and cannot run or jump, would never bite.

Defending, Katharine Evans, accused Ms Harris of “exaggerating” and suggested her own dog might have given her the injuries.

Speaking of Alfie, witness Andrew Waterhouse, a full-time home dog trainer, said: “He is a lovely, calm dog. There is no sign of aggression whatsoever.”

Deputy District Judge Margaret Dodd ruled the dog had bitten Ms Harris and gave Mrs Davies a conditional discharge for 12 months and fined her a total £615.

She said: “I accept fully what Mrs Davies says about how he behaves at home and the fact he wasn’t gone from sight for very long, but dogs react differently to certain circumstances.

“I am satisfied that Alfie did on this occasion bite her on the arm and I suspect if she was pulled over, it is because he is such a big dog, not because he was particularly aggressive.”

She made an order for Alfie to be kept on a lead at all times and warned if he escapes again he is likely to be destroyed.

Mrs Davies has since installed a bolt on the gate to prevent Alfie breaking out again.