A DOG walker is warning others to be careful after he fought off a would-be thief in Mapplewell Park.
Andrew Brownley, from Greenside, Mapplewell, was walking his two dogs alone in the park at around 7pm on Sunday when he was attacked.
His dogs, Poppy the Labrador and Porsche the Jack Russell and Pug cross, were running around off their leads.
He said he had heard whistling in the poorly lit park and then heard footsteps behind him.
He felt a shove as he began to turn around and fell into some railings, and as he scrambled to his feet he saw a stranger with his face covered, reaching into his own back pocket.
Andrew, who had a dog lead wrapped around his hand, then felt a tug on the lead.
Self-employed plumber Andrew, 36, said: “I don’t know what he was planning to do, if he was after my money, my phone or the dogs. But I shouted and he was messing around in his back pockets looking for something. I kept shouting loud, hoping someone could hear, and went for him with the lead. He backed off and tried turning away and I belted him four or five times across the head. He never said anything and just bolted, I don’t know where he went.
“The dogs were just bounding around the field, they didn’t know what was going off. It shook me up but I don’t think he expected me to turn on him. The way he was in his pockets I thought it was best to step in first. It was quite scary, I must admit. I hurt my ribs as I fell into the rail and got cuts on my hands. I had open heart surgery a few years back so my chest is still quite tender.
“It has definitely woken me up. Me and the wife have been to the park plenty of times by ourselves.
“Me and the neighbour went back straight away after to warn people.
‘I said to police I didn’t think he was very old, because when he bolted, he bolted. And he was quite stocky but he did have a big coat on. The police reckon he could have dropped something when he knocked me and they are going to treat it as an attempted robbery.
“Normally it is my wife on her own wearing a black coat so I do wonder if they maybe thought I was her. But the dogs were fine, they probably thought we were playing.”
A police spokeswoman said: “Just before 7.05pm on December 17, it was reported to police that a man walking his dogs in the Mapplewell area of Barnsley had been the victim of an attempted robbery.
“The victim, a man in his 30s, had been walking his two dogs through Mapplewell Park on Blacker Road when he was approached by a man walking behind him.
“The man is reported to have pushed the victim before trying to take the dogs leads from him. He left the area empty handed after being pushed away.
“The offender is described as white, tall, wearing black and with a scarf across his face.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident number 808 of December 17.
