A MAN climbed out of a window and fled down five storeys of scaffolding to escape police raiding his flat in search of dangerous dogs. The suspect fled as soon as police officers arrived at his front door in Hathersage Court, Newington Green, on Monday mo

A MAN climbed out of a window and fled down five storeys of scaffolding to escape police raiding his flat in search of dangerous dogs.

The suspect fled as soon as police officers arrived at his front door in Hathersage Court, Newington Green, on Monday morning, leaving his ex-girlfriend to answer the door.

Two suspected pit bulls were seized from the address and will now be examined by the Metropolitan Police Status Dogs Unit to confirm whether they are a banned breed.

Police Constable Audrey Forrester, of Mildmay Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "One female has been arrested. She admitted the ownership of both dogs. We don't know why the man ran off. She's taken the rap for it. It would be interesting to know why he ran off."

The 34-year-old woman has been bailed to return to police in November, when the breeds of the dogs will be known.

Police Constable Steve Millar, of Two Unit Dog Section, who was on his last ever raid before retiring this week after 26 years in the dog unit, said: "They're definitely pit bulls. We'll hand them over to the status dog unit, which will thoroughly examine the dogs. They were quite docile but you never know.

"People have them to make themselves look a bit hard. They're called a status dog for a reason. It's almost part of the uniform. They're not a dog you can trust - they can be lethal. When they do flip it's terrible."

The police sergeant in charge of the operation, from the North Islington Problem Solving Team, who did not want to be named, said: "The raid was a complete success. The lady let us in, which saved a lot of trouble. The two dogs were secured by the dog handlers. They seemed quite good natured. They have been seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act. As we understand it there was a male inside the address but due to scaffolding he made good his escape. I'm certain we will catch up with him."

Last month Hathersage Court was the scene of a savage attack on a King Charles Spaniel by a suspected pit bull. The two-year-old victim only survived thanks to a heroic builder who sprayed the attacking dog with a fire extinguisher.

Neither of the dogs seized in Monday's raid are suspected of being responsible for mauling the spaniel, but police said the investigation was "related".