‘The bigger dog was causing the most damage. The pain was instant in both legs, especially the left. There was blood everywhere.’
Andrew Forgrave Countryside and tourism editor
12:17, 09 Apr 2026Updated 14:09, 09 Apr 2026
A man’s visit to Wales turned into a nightmare as he was mauled by two dogs. Leon Williams, from Margate in Kent, had been visiting Caernarfon where he had been commissioned to teach dance classes when he was attacked by the dogs near a popular visitor spot.
Mr Williams told North Wales Live the attack was a complete blur, although he remembered feeling as though he had to allow the dogs to maul his legs so they didn’t go for his throat, while he was in shock and disbelief.
Mr Williams, 59, said the horror incident lasted three or four minutes before he managed to get away with one of the dogs still chasing him.
The dance teacher and fitness instructor had been staying in the Royal Celtic Hotel in the north Wales town where he’d been advised to go on a morning walk up Twthill, a popular viewpoint overlooking the town and also with panoramic views of Anglesey and the Menai Strait.
The deepest puncture wounds were on Leon’s left leg behind his knee(Image: Leon Williams)
On the last day of his visit on Sunday, March 29, he had been walking and taking pictures at Twthill when he was attacked by the dogs. He told how he at first wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the dogs and the man walking them until he realised the man was struggling to keep them under control on their leads.
“I wasn’t anxious or fearful but I decided to take a shortcut back down so he wasn’t following me,” Mr Williams said. “But when I turned to look back, the next thing I knew they were on me.”
Mr Williams is six feet tall and said the dogs weren’t big but they managed to knock him over. He recalled how the larger of the two dogs clamped onto his left leg behind his knee and the smaller dog went for his right leg.
“I can remember with great clarity protecting my neck so that the dogs didn’t go for my neck,” he remembered. “I couldn’t get up because I was on a grassy slope and the dogs had hold of both my legs. I was also pinned down by the owner leaning on me trying to get the dogs off.
“The bigger dog was causing the most damage. The pain was instant in both legs, especially the left. There was blood everywhere.”
At one point the larger dog released its grip and Mr Williams managed to get to his feet, stumbling over the other dog as it clung to his right leg.
“Then I just ran and ran and ran,” he recalled. “I’m not sure where. The police later told me I must have gone over a footbridge but I can’t remember that.
“One dog was chasing me. When I reached the High Street I looked back and it wasn’t there – at some stage it must have given up. By this time the adrenaline was starting to wear off. I began hobbling, trying to make it back to the hotel.”
Having telephoned ahead, the event organiser and hotel receptionist were awaiting his arrival. In a private area he removed his torn trousers. “As soon as she saw my wounds the receptionist called the police and ambulance,” he said.
When younger Leon performed on tour in Starlight Express and taught dance on cruise ships(Image: Leon Williams)
He spent the morning at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, being treated and receiving tetanus injections. He was scheduled to return home that evening but was so badly injured he chose to stay overnight in Liverpool instead.
A week later he shared photographs of his injuries on Facebook’s Caru Caernarfon page. “I wasn’t looking for sympathy, I just wanted to raise awareness,” he said. “I didn’t want anyone else to go through what I’d gone through.
“Caernarfon is a beautiful place and I shall no doubt visit again. But what happened has left a mental scar. I’ve had to cancel all my classes for a while, so I’m not earning. It was actually quite cathartic publishing the post – like a bit of self-therapy – as hopefully it will help others.
“I was told the dog owner was interviewed by police the next day. A police officer called me yesterday asking if I wanted to press charges. I said 100% yes, this can’t be allowed to happen again.”
North Wales Police has been contacted for a response.