London, Aug 12 - A terrified man in Britain did not hesitate jumping off a 60 feet high bridge when he feared being mauled to death by an attacking dog.

Mohammed Ilyas came across the dog while walking across a footbridge in Birmingham city, The Sun reported.

The dog cornered him and was trying to eat his hands as he clung on to a barrier before jumping off the bridge over a dual carriageway, it said.

He broke both legs and fractured a thigh in the plunge as he landed in a ditch. He later said: "If I hadn't jumped it would have killed me.

"It was terrifying, I thought the dog was going to tear me limb from limb. I'm 6ft 3in but it came to my stomach. It was a huge beast," said Ilyas.

Police took three hours to capture the animal - which was finally sedated by a zoo vet shooting it with an elephant tranquiliser dart.