Widower Leslie Trotman was 'terrified' of his neighbour’s pit bull-type dog and begged him to fix the waist high fence that separated the two back gardens.
Mr Trotman, 83, was bitten on the right-leg and knocked to the ground at his home in Rowan Road, Brentford, west London, last month.
Shocked neighbours claim the dog’s owners sat in the front garden drinking cups of tea as they watched Mr Trotman being taken away by an ambulance.
He was treated at nearby West Middlesex Hospital for bites and bruising before being allowed home. However, six days later on January 26th his only son Stevan found Mr Trotman dead in his house.
A post-mortem examination revealed that retired Booth Gin’s distillery engineer Mr Trotman suffered internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen suffered when he was attacked by the dog.
A man in his thirties has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and three dogs were taken from an address in Rowan Road.
Mr Trotman had lived in Rowan Road for more than 25 years, but had lived there alone since his wife Doris died four years ago.
Today, his neighbours remembered Mr Trotman as the 'perfect grandfather' and a 'friendly chap' who lived a healthy and active life.
One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said the neighbour’s guard dogs were not properly restrained. She said: 'He was terrified of those dogs, absolutely terrified.
'The pit bull was chained to the kennel which was next to the waist high fence. The dog used to be able to jump over the fence and run around in his back garden. He and his son Stevan were really worried about those dogs.
'He asked his neighbours if he could fix the fence again and again, but they said they would do it their way.
'They never really did just put a little bit of junk as a barrier. If they had done it properly they could have save his life.
'He never did anything to no one. He was a lovely man and very well-known around here.
'When it happened the emergency crews came to the door and took Les away the owners of the dog were just standing on the shared footpath with a cup of tea.
'How could they just sit there watching like that knowing what their dogs had done?
'We went over to drop a sympathy card a few days later and the dog was chained up in the owner’s bathroom, barking like nothing else.'
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| View of Leslie Trotman's garden and his neighbour's garden with dog kennel, pictured, in Brentford, West London |
She added: 'Les had lived alone for the past four years since his wife died, but he always had people popping in to see him. His son would come by everyday.'
Helen Madden, who has lived behind Mr Trotman’s house for 12 years, said he fitted the ideal of the perfect grandfather.
She said: 'We are all really in shock. He was very active, fit, healthy and very independent. He would drive his car to the shops most day and wave to all the neighbours as he went about his day.
'His wife Doris, who he called Belle, loved the garden. It was her pride and joy so he kept it going after she died.
'You would actually sometimes hear him talking to the dogs saying ‘calm down now’ or ‘be quiet’.
That’s why it such a shock they attacked him because they know him well.
'He was very friendly and very forbearing chap. In fact he was like the perfect grandfather, an absolutely smashing man'.
(Daily Mail - Feb 9, 2012)
