A man needed several stitches to his face after being attacked by a Rottweiler as he walked along a Pembroke street.

Andrew Laws was pounced on by the large black dog at around midnight on Tuesday as he walked up St. Augustine's Hill.

"I was just walking up the hill when I was faced with a Rottweiler," said Mr. Laws. "The dog then flew onto me. I tried to kick it off, but it kept heading for my face.

"I finally pulled the dog off myself, but it had already bitten and ripped up my nose and face."

Mr. Laws, who has been training dogs for 32 years, said he believed it was the owners who were to blame for dangerous dogs attacking people.

"The owners of these dogs are training them to attack first," added Mr. Laws.

"I never train a dog to attack until it has had obedience training for at least two years.

"People are abusing their dogs and training them to fight, but unfortunately when they are off the leash or out of their kennels, they immediately attack any and everyone."

Head dog warden at the Department of the Environment Jeffrey Benevides said his office was contacted about the incident, however, it was too late and the dog could not be found.

He said when ever there was an incident of this sort, residents should contact the Police immediately, and then dog wardens will be called - regardless of the hour.

Mr. Benevides said: "It is best to call the Police as soon as possible and the Police will contact a dog warden.

"We are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"We went in search of the Rottweiler, but we didn't receive the call until 10.30 a.m. the next day. It was 12 hours after the incident when we went looking for the dog, but we did not find it.

"I took pictures of his wounds, but we need people to inform the Police as soon as an incident like this happens, so that we have a good chance of catching the animal."

Mr. Benevides said the incident was still under investigation, and asked the public to call the Police if they saw any stray dogs. The Police can be contacted on 295-0011.