Two seriously injured, dog shot in Sandown attack

Emergency crews were called to The Fairway, Sandown at around 10pm last night (Sunday), to deal with reports of what police have called a dangerously out of control dog.

A man in his 20s, who is known to the owner, was also attacked and has been taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Armed officers were sent to the area and the dog was shot, to prevent any further members of the public coming to serious harm say Isle of Wight Police.

One person in the area this morning (Monday), told the Isle of Wight County Press that they had heard gun shots: "I heard two gun shots last night. We heard that armed police had arrived after a dog began attacking people. That's all we know."

Initially believed to be a stray, police say the dog's owner was the person who was attacked.

In a comment on Facebook, the force moved to end some of the speculation, confirming that a police dog was not involved.

The Isle of Wight NHS Trust says one person has been admitted to St Mary's Hospital and a second person has been transferred to Salisbury.

Inspector Matt Moss said: “We understand the circumstances will be incredibly distressing for the public, but please be reassured that it is very rare for our officers to have to deal with an incident of this nature.

“The two injured people remain in hospital at this time and our enquiries remain ongoing to establish how this incident happened.

“The dog involved did have to be destroyed at the scene by attending officers. We do not take these sorts of decisions lightly, and we are confident that this was absolutely necessary in the circumstances to protect the wider public, due to the threat that the dog posed.

“We would like to thank the two members of the public who stopped at the scene in their vehicle to assist the two injured people prior to the arrival of emergency services. Thankfully they were unharmed, and their actions may have prevented the dog from causing further injuries.”