The dogwalker, named as John Hackett, was brutally beaten during a savage attack by a group of schoolchildren this week. Mr Hackett was later founded dead by his mother hours after the attack took place in a park in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. A young mother told the MailOnline that the teenagers involved in the attack “kept punching and kicking him”.
Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
It has been claimed that the 36-year-old was set upon by the teenagers after he either allegedly refused to pick up the mess his dog left behind, or after a stick he had thrown for his pet hit one of the children.
Mr Hackett is believed to have been a carer for his mother.
The young mother, who had seen a video of the attack, claimed that it was filmed by one of the schoolchildren at the fight.
Describing the footage, she told the MailOnline: “One lad had taken him down in a ‘choke slam’ and kept his arm round his neck as he was lying on the ground.
“The other one was punching him in the head and kicking him in the side.
“The girls and some other lads were crowding round while he took a beating. There were about eight of them.
“They kept punching him and kicking him. It was brutal, it was very disgusting. The video lasted about a minute.
“The rumour going round is that it was all over a bit of dog mess not being binned.
“Someone else said the man had thrown a stick for his dog and it had hit one of the girls.”
One bar worker called the footage “disgusting,” adding: “The poor bloke didn’t deserve that.”
Warwickshire Police Detective Inspector Collette O’Keefe said: “We would ask anyone with information to get in touch with us as soon as possible. Though we believe this to be an isolated incident, with no threat to the wider public, residents can expect to see a heightened police presence in the area for their reassurance.
“We are aware there is footage circulating of the altercation on social media and we would ask people not to share it while we continue our ongoing investigation to work out the circumstances behind this man’s death.
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man at this sad time.”
