A MUM with a young baby “bawled her eyes out” after she was attacked by a travellers’ dog at Branksome Rec.

The single mother from Parkstone was pushing her young daughter in her buggy around the rec on Sunday morning when she was attacked by the small dog tied up by the group’s vehicles.

“They’d parked their caravan on the path so I asked one of them why he had to block it”, said the woman, who asked not to be identified.

“He was really rude and said, “So what”, then started saying lots of things about the law and their entitlement.

“Then he said they had dogs behind there and I told him he shouldn’t have dogs tied up.

“Suddenly all the other men started appearing and it started to get quite scary.

“One of them called me a pig and at that point I thought I needed to go.

“I went round the van and one of the small dogs just leapt at me and grabbed me round the ankle.

“I had to kick him off but he made a hole in my trousers. The group were still there and telling me not to look through their windows, although I wasn’t at all; I just wanted to get out.”

The group moved onto the site on Friday afternoon. Frustrated residents formed a human barricade to stop them coming and going after a fence had been damaged.

It is understood the council will be going to court today to get an eviction order. The mum, who was not injured by the dog, saw one of the traveller group leave the site with their caravan while she was waiting for police to arrive.

“I was bawling my eyes out”, she added.

“It was a really, really horrible experience.

“I’ve never had anything against travellers but this group was really intimidating and rude.

“I had my little baby with me and felt very vulnerable. I went the long way home as I was scared they were going to see me.”

A spokesperson for Dorset Police confirmed they were called to the incident and the matter has been passed to Poole’s dog warden.

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