A dog owner is warning others to beware after she says her pet pooch had her leg broken by a careless cyclist.

Karen Yellowlees was walking her Maltipoo – a cross of the Maltese and the Poodle – with her son near the lakes at Fairlands Valley Park in Stevenage when she stopped to have a chat with two other dog walkers.

Karen said: “We stopped to chat with two ladies while our pups played.

“A man on his bike – who could clearly see us all – chose not to warn us that he was coming up, or slow down or move out of the way, and instead chose to ride straignt into my small dog.

“He rode over her leg, breaking it in three places.

“She was rushed to the Queen Mother Hospital for Small Animals in Brookmans Park and stayed overnight. She now has to have six weeks’ cage rest.

“Luckily she’s insured, as the bill was over £2,500.”

The incident happened at about 6pm on August 24 and Karen is keen to warn other dog owners to be vigilant in order to protect their pets.

She said the man – described as in his 30s, with short hair and a foreign accent, and wearing a grey tracksuit at the time of the incident – stopped following the collision, but did nothing to help.

Karen said: “My son said ‘are you not going to even say sorry?’ and he replied ‘no, it’s just a dog’.

“He then started to get arguementative, saying he was a man and my son was just a boy, so my son told him to go away.

“The point is he rode without any due care and attention.

“He could have hit a child or an elderly person.”

Karen said the man rode off, heading towards the maze area of the park.

She warned: “Everyone please watch your dogs with a man like this at the lakes.”

Her dog, which is called Ettie and is 20 months old, is recovering from the ordeal, but Karen says the pooch is depressed and she has to take her into work with her every day.

There will also be a series of veterinary check-ups ahead, before her beloved pet will be back to full health once more.

• Dog Watch is a police initiative launched in 2009 with the aim of encouraging dog walkers to report anti-social behaviour or suspicious incidents to the police. For more information, search for ‘Stevenage Dog Watch’ on Facebook.