A DANGEROUS dog owner is on the run from police after failing to turn up to a court hearing last week.

Police have issued a warrant for Enfield resident Ernest Kyem after he missed his hearing at Enfield Magistrates Court last Friday, where he was found guilty of owning a dangerous dog.

He had been accused of letting his Neapolitan Mastiff kill a West Highland White Terrier and seriously injure another by allowing it off the leash.

Both attacks took place in February this year, and Diana Mammato - the owner of the injured dog - had been trying to get him to court for the past eight months.

The 55-year-old, from Winchmore Hill, was walking her terrier through Oakwood Park on the afternoon of February 8 when Kyem's dog bounded up and attacked.

She said: "It was absolutely terrifying. The dog just picked my dog up and started shaking her.

"I screamed at the guy to get him to do something, but he just stood there. It seemed like a lifetime before he eventually started kicking it and beating it with a chain lead.

"I thought my dog had died. She was covered in blood and had a big puncture wound on her back and in her abdomen.

"She had to be opened up to check her intestines were intact and she was in the vet for five days."

Kyem gave a false name and phone number following the attack, but Ms Mammato and fellow dog owners eventually managed to track him down through word of mouth and reported him to the police.

When he was finally summoned to court, she felt "relief and elation" - which has now turned to frustration and disappointment.

Ms Mammato said: "I'm very angry. I have the feeling he's run away and we're not going to find him.

"I did this for our area, to protect our dogs and owners, and I'm glad I did it, but he needs to be caught and punished, and his dog should be put down.

"He needs to do some sort of community service, because a fine is not enough to stop him.

"I'm a dog lover and it makes me very upset that someone could let a dog get into that state."

Do you know this man? Please contact Rebecca Lowe at rlowe@london.newsquest.co.uk or Enfield police directly at 0300 123 1212.