VILLAGERS are demanding action over dogs they claim are terrorising a picturesque country lane near York.

Dog-walkers in Holtby say they dare not take their pets down Back Lane, after a number of alleged attacks by the animals.

The dogs have been called "large and aggressive", and villagers have described one of them as looking "like a Rottweiler or Doberman".

They are owned by the residents of a house adjoining the lane, and are alleged to have attacked several dogs over the past two years, after jumping over a gateway.

Some dog walkers also claim they have feared for their own safety while their dogs were being attacked.

Holtby parish councillors have written to dog wardens at City of York Council on several occasions to complain about the dogs' behaviour, and say they are awaiting action.

Villager Sally Arnup, a renowned sculptor who runs a nearby gallery, contacted the Evening Press after her border terrier, Stubbs, was attacked for a second time.

"The whole village is affected by this, we are in absolute desperation of something being done," she said.

"That lane is now unwalkable. Nobody will walk their dogs down there for fear of what will happen."

Sally said the most recent attack was when her husband, Mick, and a family friend were walking Stubbs down past the gate of the house.

She claimed the dogs jumped the gate and attacked Stubbs, biting into his neck and shaking him.

She says her friend, a pensioner, fell to the ground, and Mick had to fend off the dogs by waving a stick at them.

The dogs only retreated, she claimed, when the owners arrived clutching "steel whips", and retrieved them.

Stubbs suffered two puncture wounds in his neck, allegedly from the teeth of one of the dogs, and lost a patch of skin on his head.

Sally says she sent a letter complaining about the animals to the city council's dog wardens, signed by 35 other villagers with similar fears.

She says she now drives Stubbs to the next village for his walks.

Parish councillor Norman West said he had been told by a dog warden that one of the animals had been made the subject of a restraining order.

He added that he had personally written to the council to explain the depth of feeling in the village.

"I have received numerous complaints from people who say they daren't walk their dogs down that lane, and I include myself in that.

"What's frustrating us is that, despite assurances from the council, these dogs are still getting out and challenging people.

"One of them does look like a Rottweiler, big and terrifying. People are scared witless, on what should be the nicest walk you can do in Holtby.

"But I'm afraid the city council seems reticent to do anything."

A City of York Council spokesman said: "We are investigating complaints from residents about both dogs.

"The older dog was made the subject of a control order in July 1998.

"Things went quiet for quite some time, but we have recently received complaints from residents and from the parish council."The dogs' owners declined to comment when approached by the Evening Press.

Updated: 08:45 Friday, June 07, 2002