FOUR yobs on off-road motorbikes revved alongside a young woman walking her puppy alone in a Gorleston park killing the animal and leaving her “very distressed”.

FOUR yobs on off-road motorbikes revved alongside a young woman walking her puppy alone in a Gorleston park killing the animal and leaving her “very distressed”.

The bikes were going so fast - an estimated 60mph - that the lead was ripped from her hand leaving her with burn marks, the drivers not even bothering to look back.

Rebecca Traynier, 21, was in the playing field that backs onto East Anglian Way with five-month-old Shadow on Sunday when she heard the roaring noise of engines, pulling the Husky, who was on a lead, closer towards her.

“I could see Shadow was getting scared so I tried to move out of the way but they just kept coming,” she said.

The bikes split into groups going either side of her and but it was the rider on the left who delivered the fatal blow.

A panic stricken Miss Traynier bent down towards the lifeless dog and immediately called her partner Lee Marshall.

Mr Marshall, 24, rushed from the couple's nearby Church Road home where he found his girlfriend in a “very distressed” state.

He said: “The dog was killed instantly. The bike struck him on his right upper leg which is close to his heart so as the bike hit him it is destroyed his insides.

No one was in the field when the incident happened but Mr Marshall, a behaviour manager at Edward Worlledge Middle School asked other dog walkers coming onto the field it they had seen anything and called the police.

He said: “The police phoned me on Monday and said that three bikes, believed to be those used in the attack, had been seized on Sunday night and were taken to a compound. But the compound was broken into later on Sunday night and the three bikes had been stolen.

“I want them to be caught. The dog was only three feet away from my girlfriend so they could have easily hit her.”

Mr Marshall said the playing field was frequently used by dog walkers and young families.

He said: “There is a play area which isn't fenced off and my concern is that it a child could get hit. The kids on the bikes just rode off without even looking behind them. They don't have any consideration for others.”

The couple had Shadow since he was one month old and Mr Marshall described him as “very friendly pet” that would get excited when he saw people. “He was a friendly dog, Huskies are a friendly breed, and he loved walks along the beach.”

While Mr Marshall said his partner, who works as a learning mentor at a Gorleston school, was “getting over” the incident he said the couple would wait a while before getting a new pet.

The council-maintained field is surrounded by a metal wire fence but the fence has been broken in one of the corners and that is how the bikers got onto the field.

This week Labour councillor Trevor Wainwright called on the authority to repair the fence.

He said: “The hole in the fence near East Anglian Way leads to wasteland near East Norfolk Sixth Form College. As I understand from residents it has been like that for about three years.

“This is a very serious incident and the dog could have easily been a child. It needs to be repaired.”

A police spokesman said the compound had been broken into between 10.30pm and 11.30pm and three “scrambler” bikes stolen. One male was arrested in connection with the break-in and released on police bail.

A witness had reported seeing three teenagers hanging around at the time of the thefts.

If you have any information about the incident call Yarmouth Police on 0845 456 4567.