A FAMILY were left terrified after being approached by two out-of-control rottweilers at a popular beauty spot.

The mother and father had taken their children, aged eight, five and one, to explore High Woods Country Park late on Tuesday morning.

After spotting the dogs running towards them, the youngsters became visibly distressed and started screaming and crying.

The father said: “I managed to pick up the youngest one before one of the dogs put his nose in the face of my five-year-old.

“I managed to pull my son towards me and tell him to keep quiet to avoid being attacked.

“The other dog just kept standing on guard inside our personal space and growling.

“I shouted to their owner, who was on crutches, ‘get your dogs away please’, but the dogs did not react at all to their owner.

“I repeated my request again, but nothing changed.

“Only when the owner passed us, the dogs followed.”

The incident took place in one of the park’s Dogs on Leads zones.

A spokesman for Colchester Council said: “High Woods Country Park is a great place to exercise dogs.

“To ensure it stays a pleasant, safe and enjoyable place for all visitors, we ask that dog walkers follow our code of conduct which is available at the visitor centre, on signage throughout the park and on our website at colchester.gov.uk.

“If there are any incidents involving dogs in the park, these should be reported to park rangers, which this incident was.”

The father said Essex Police were called but did not attend.