POLICE are investigating after a man was bitten by a “vicious” dog on a Bournemouth golf course.

Bob Wood, 79, was playing golf at Queens Park in Bournemouth with some friends when the “completely out of control” dog attacked him.

The dog, which is said to have been a breed of pitbull, was wearing no collar or lead and Mr Wood was forced to fend it away with his golf club.

The attack drew blood and Mr Wood, a retired builder from Bournemouth, was forced to go to the doctor’s for treatment and a tetanus jab.

Mr Wood described the incident as “frightening” and said the dog was “vicious” and “completely out of control” as it darted towards him on the second tee.

He added just before attacking him the dog had tried to bite other golfers on the green.

Mr Wood said: “The dog came at such a speed I couldn’t move. I’ve been playing golf here for 45 years and this is the first time I have been attacked.”

Mr Wood is the Vice-President of Queens Park Golf Club and plays there regularly.

A friend of Mr Wood, Tony Sword, witnessed the attack.

He said: “It was a disaster. This is the worst incident I have seen here. It was very scary. If there were families with kids around, God knows what would have happened.”

Mr Sword says “it was an accident waiting to happen” as dogs are seen on the golf course regularly.

The dog is said to have been barking and running around the course bothering other golfers after the attack.

The course is owned by Bournemouth Borough Council, but they declined to comment as the dog warden did not attend the incident.

Police were called to the incident at 11.50am on Thursday and say they have contacted Mr Wood to arrange an interview.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police told the Echo that the investigation is ongoing and so far, no arrests have been made.

It was reported that in a separate incident, a dog killed a swan on the course a few months ago.