Student attacked in bed by police dog that leapt through window

James Ogwo awoke to find the alsatian with its teeth round his thigh.

"The dog was on top of me, barking and snarling," he said. "It dragged me out of bed and across the floor and sunk its teeth into my body repeatedly.

"It was terrifying. One minute I was fast asleep and the next I was thrown into some terrible nightmare."

The 30-year-old forensic science student screamed for help and police officers who had been investigating a burglary at a hairdresser's on his street stormed into his building and called the dog off.

He suffered deep cuts to his right thigh, left buttock, arms and stomach as well as a head injury during the attack at his home in Catford in August.

He still suffers nightmares and is receiving treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. He has also been unable to work to fund his course at London South Bank University.

Mr Ogwo, a Nigerian who moved to Britain five years ago, is seeking £10,000 damages from the Met for his injuries and distress.

He said: "I still can't believe I was attacked like that in my own home.

"I don't know if the police sent the dog in or whether it jumped in of its own accord but either way it took them ages to come and get it. I thought it was going to kill me.

"I am still waiting for the police to admit liability. The whole experience was horrifying. I was not even a suspect in the burglary they were investigating and they had no warrant to search my home or enter it.

"The whole thing has been incredibly traumatic. I am now seriously questioning whether I want to use my forensic science degree to help a police force which treats innocent civilians in this manner and then refuses to apologise."

Cheryl Abrahams, Mr Ogwo's solicitor, is preparing to issue court proceedings-She said: "Police dogs are trained to attack and so the officers would have known that the dog could inflict serious injury on anyone it came across. It should have been restrained.

"Mr Ogwo no longer feels safe in his own home. He is an upstanding member of the community who has never been in trouble with the police. There was, and still is, absolutely no suggestion that he was involved in any criminal activity."

A spokeswoman for the Met said: "We can confirm we have received a claim relating to this incident. The matter is being dealt with by our legal services department and we can't comment further."