A man yesterday appealed to trash dumpers to stop leaving waste on protected land after his pet dog was seriously injured by broken glass.

Jonathan Northcott said his Dutch Shepherd, Gypsy, needed emergency surgery on a deep cut to a paw suffered at the HT North Woodland Reserve.

Mr Northcott said he rushed Gypsy to Endsmeet Animal Hospital after the Wednesday incident where vets “took one look at him and said they had to get him under”.

He added: “It was a big gash – he was bleeding profusely.”

The broken glass came from a pile of bottles that Mr Northcott had collected from the roadside for disposal, but which were smashed by a passer-by.

Mr Northcott, from Smith’s, said there was a long history of littering as well as bikes getting dumped and stripped at the verge of Judkin Lane alongside Mangrove Lake.

He said: “It’s a weird mentality - it’s such a beautiful area, but there’s always been a problem with trash.

“I’ve let the police know at least four times about bikes dumped there before they get stripped.

“Fairly regularly, my family and I will go pick up the trash. We’ve been along and picked up two, three trash bags worth in 500 yards.

“This time, somebody came by and thought it would be fun to smash the bottles and the glass went into the grass.”

Gypsy was recovering at home yesterday after a $700 operation.

Mr Northcott’s father, Brian Northcott, said the dog could have been killed.

He added: “The dog was on his leash but he wandered into the grass and got severely cut.

“It shows how despicable some people are that they would do that on purpose and leave it there for someone to get hurt.”