A man in his nineties was left in distress after being bitten on the hand and leg following an attack by a pitbull in the Cornagrade area of Enniskillen on Sunday evening.

The man was walking along Derrin Road on Sunday, August 9 around 7pm when he was attacked.

A student nurse who was in the area at the time came across the man who she described as being “very distressed” with his hand “covered in blood”.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, the student nurse, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “I saw this wee man walking down the street, I didn’t really pass any remarks at the start but then he was coming closer and I could see he was crying. He was very distressed and his right hand was covered in blood.

“I went over to him straight away and he was crying saying, ‘please girls whatever you do, don’t go up to the top of Derrin Road because I’ve just been attacked by a pitbull’,” recalled the student nurse, commenting that she was very shocked.

“The man is deaf and he was walking with a stick and the dog attacked him from behind, he never heard the dog coming.”

The student nurse continued: “He hit the dog three times to get the dog away and then the owner of the dog and another person seen this happening and pulled the dog away from him. What I didn’t like about it was they pulled the dog away but they never actually went to the man to see if he was okay. That’s what really annoyed me. There’s a lot of children in the area of Cornagrade and what if that had have been a child?”

Requesting the aid of some of her family members who were nearby at the time, the student nurse assisted the injured man as her sister called for an ambulance.

“Being a student nurse I could tell he was very distressed and he was a very high colour. So I said for him to get into my car and I would drive him round to his own house which was around the corner,” said the student nurse.

“My sister had phoned the ambulance at this stage and I checked the back of his leg because the dog had bitten the back of his right leg as well but it didn’t actually draw blood. I drove him round to the house and I explained to the man’s wife who I was and that the man had been in a dog attack,” she shared.

The student nurse explained that the injury to the man’s hand was a superficial cut but there was a lot of blood so she wrapped it to stop the bleeding.

“The ambulance arrived and we found out that the man had had a heart attack a few months ago and he was on blood thinning tablets and that was why there was a lot of blood,” said the student nurse, adding: “He was taken to A&E in the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH). He got a tetanus jab but he didn’t need to get stitches. They then wrapped his hand.”

Police called up to the SWAH but they explained to the student nurse that they couldn’t assist any further as it was a council matter.

“The man’s niece collected him from the hospital and I called at around 9.30pm that evening to see him. He was still very shaken up and he was crying. Just very afraid,” said the student nurse.

On Monday morning (August 10) she called the council and explained what had happened: “They said it was an urgent incident that had happened.”

As the man had told her the type of dog and colour, the student nurse knew where it resided and was able to pass this information on to the dog warden.

“The dog warden explained that he would have to visit the property but he would not have authorisation to take the dog away,” said the student nurse.

“The wee gentleman, he’s 90 years of age, he would go out walking once a day in the area but now he’s scared to go outside at the minute,” she concluded.

A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) stated that they received a 999 call at 7.10pm on Sunday, August 9 following reports of an incident at Derrin Road, Enniskillen.

“NIAS despatched one Emergency to the scene. Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, one patient was taken to the South West Acute Hospital by ambulance,” the NIAS spokesman concluded.

The Licensing Department of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is aware of the attack. A spokesman commented: “The Council is aware of a complaint regarding a dog attack in the Derrin Park area of Enniskillen over the weekend. An investigation is currently underway and if anyone has information to help with the investigation, please contact the Licensing Department of Fermanagh Omagh District Council on 0300 303 1777.

“Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation and potential legal implications, no further comment can be made at this time.”