A Watford pensioner was knocked to the ground by a large dog in Cassiobury Park last weekend.

Rita French, 82, was walking in the West Watford park on Sunday when a dog on a long leash broke away from its owner and knocked her down.

She said: "The dog shot out. It brought the woman who was supposed to be holding him too.

"It knocked into me as hard as it could. I went down onto the tarmac. A witness came and pulled the dog off me and said they should have had it on a tighter leash.

"I was lying on the floor, I was in pain. I couldn’t stop trembling. I used to like dogs but not now."

Rita, of Combe Wood, went to Watford General Hospital for x-rays.

The 82-year-old, who has also been battling cancer for years, described the dog as big and brown.

At the time of the incident, at around 12.40pm, she was walking on the grass verge by the cafe in the park.

She added that although the dog was on a leash, the length of the lead made it an ineffective control.

Rita appealed to dog walkers in the park to keep their pets on tight leashes.