A neighbor has described the moment he helped save a woman who was being attacked by her pet dog.

Two women were taken to hospital with serious injuries following the attack on Papworth Road, March, at around 10:45 GMT on Sunday.

Cambridgeshire Police said the incident involved a mixed breed dogwhich the force said was not believed to have been covered by dangerous dog legislation.

John Goude left his home to help one of the victims whose forearm was in the dog’s mouth, dragged it off her and suffered minor bite injuries himself.

“A neighbor called me and asked me to check on a commotion going on across the street from me,” Mr Goude said.

“I went out and was shocked to see a teenage girl attacked by a dog.

“Her forearm was in her mouth; screamed and screamed trying to get him down; it was terrifying.”

Mr Goude says he “thought (the victim) was going to die” if no one intervened.

“I’ve had Staffies in the past and this dog was bigger and had a wider mouth,” he said.

“I’ve lost track of time, but it was probably about 10-15 minutes that they had to pin him down on the gravel before the police arrived.

“I don’t want to be a hero; I was just doing what I had to do.”

He said once she was freed, the victim got into a nearby car.

The women were taken to Peterborough Hospital where they were left with serious but non-life threatening bite injuries.

The dog was put down after being captured by the police.

The animal was owned by women and police confirmed they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to the BBC said they agreed the injuries could have been much worse had Mr Goude not intervened.

Some of them said they initially thought they were kids messing around.

“The screams seemed to go on for about five minutes, so I went out to investigate,” Lee Darling said.

“The dog had half the person’s arm in its mouth, but it wasn’t just stuck – it was shaking it.

“I thought it was coming off; it was awful; I can’t unsee it.”

He added that his five-year-old son went out with him and was relieved he was not attacked.

Charlotte Lewis said the attack happened right in front of her house and made her wary of other dogs.

“It was just people sitting around, they didn’t know what to do,” she said.

“If it had been a person attacking the young woman, I’m sure people would have gotten involved sooner.

“I thought about going in, but it was a very stocky, big dog, even when the police came they didn’t know exactly what to do, it wasn’t until the dog unit arrived that they took him into a van.”