The man who stabbed an American pit bull terrier to death in a park tells his side of the story.

In an exclusive interview with The Argus, Patrick Walker described how he repeatedly stabbed the animal after it attacked his partner's daughter.

He told how he rained 55 knife blows on the pet in less than a minute and said he feared the dog would "rip the girl's throat out" if something was not done.

His account comes after the death sparked furious reactions from readers across the city.

The dog was discovered almost decapitated in Wild Park, Brighton, after witnesses described seeing a man disappearing into bushes with the animal.

Mr Walker, 35, from Moulsecoomb, said he, along with his partner and their three children, owned Paddy.

He said he was never told when he agreed to take the dog that it had previously bitten someone and had once been given away as it was considered unsafe near children.

Mr Walker said: "We kept an eye on him for a couple of weeks but he seemed fine. He even slept with the 17-year-old on her bed. I used to feed him from my own plate. That dog ate better than we did. We never mistreated the animal at all. We loved him."

Mr Walker said that he has since found out that the other puppies in Paddy's litter were all put down due to the discovery that they suffered from brain disorders. On Wednesday morning, Mr Walker's partner's daughters, aged 11 and 17, took Paddy for a walk in Wild Park.

Some time later the 11-yearold ran back alone to the house.

Mr Walker said: "She was hysterical. She'd left her shoes in the park. We couldn't get any sense out of her."

Mr Walker's partner rushed to the park because she did not know what had happened to her other daughter.

She said: "The dog was completely out of control. It had ripped off my daughter's hooded jacket and after she had put on her puffer jacket to cover herself the dog tore half of that to pieces.

"When I got to her I tried kicking the dog off but it still kept attacking her. She was almost naked and covered in bites and scratches."

Mr Walker said: "When the 11-year-old ran in she was screaming so much I didn't know what was going on. I grabbed a hunting knife and brought it with me. I didn't know what was going on. I thought some maniac must be attacking her."

When Mr Walker arrived at the park the dog was still trying to attack both mother and daughter and still would not stop when he tried to restrain the animal, which also went for him.

Mr Walker said: "I had visions the dog was going to rip the girl's throat out. When I realised it wasn't going to stop going for her I took out the knife and killed it as quickly as I could. I know it was excessive force but I tried to do it as fast as possible. It wasn't prolonged.

Those stab wounds all happened in about a minute.

"I dragged it into the bushes to kill it. After I had killed the dog I was really upset and I came back to check if the children were OK."

The girl said she had been in shock since the attack and is covered with cuts and bruises.

She said: "When he was on the lead he dragged me along the ground and tore off half my jacket, which became wrapped so tight around my stomach I couldn't breathe. I held on to a tree as I had to stop him getting me down on the floor and biting me again."

The 11-year-old said: "I tried to get the dog off her but it just kept doing it and doing it. I went to run for my mum but she couldn't get a word out of me because I was crying.

"The dog had never done anything like that before.

"It was like there was another side to him."

Mr Walker said: "The police came round later. I went with them to the station and told them everything that happened."

Mr Walker's partner said: "If we'd left the dog to rag her and kill her, what would people think of us?"

Was killing the dog justified? Leave your comments below