Edwina’s hip broke after she fell over her OWN dog, insists neighbour
After she demanded £5,000 in damages and called for a police visit...
EDWINA Currie’s neighbour has slammed the former Tory MP’s claims that his German shepherd attacked her so badly that she ended up in hospital for urgent hip surgery.
Terry O’Malley, 78, defended his pooch Belle, five, who Ms Currie claimed left her ‘totally mashed up’ after the dog lunged at her near her home in whaley Bridge, Derbyshire.
The smash left the I’m A Celebrity veteran needing an emergency hip replacement, putting her in hospital for ten days.
But Mr O’Malley said: ‘I don’t know what Edwina is talking about. Belle didn’t even touch her and didn’t cause her to fall. This whole incident has been blown out of proportion and it’s got nothing to do with my dog.
‘Belle is a lovely, gentle dog who would never attack anyone. Everybody in whaley Bridge knows this. It’s nonsense for Edwina to say that my dog lunged at her and that it led to her hip breaking. I think she’s a bit confused about what actually took place.’
Recalling the incident, which took place on 12 October, Mr O’Malley said that he was out walking with Belle across a field close to his and Ms Currie’s home.
He said: ‘we were at the entrance to a narrow path close to a road and as I stopped to put a lead on Belle, I heard two dogs barking and yapping at the opposite end. Belle started barking back and ran towards them and a short scuffle broke out.
‘I ran after Belle to get her under control and as I was doing this, I noticed Edwina standing close to the two small dogs and realised that they were her Terriers. Belle moved to one side, I got her under control, and it was at this point that Edwina stumbled over her dogs and fell to the ground.’
Mr O’Malley, a retired engineer who lives with partner Anne Leyland, added: ‘At the moment
‘She is trying to frighten me’
Edwina fell, Belle had moved to the left. There was no sustained attack by my dog because Edwina fell over her own dogs.’
Mr O’Malley also denied Ms Currie’s claims that he never asked how she was after the fall and that he showed no remorse.
He protested: ‘Of course I asked her how she was but all I could hear was Edwina shouting, “I’m all right” and “That dog should be on a lead”. I could tell she wasn’t happy, but I did not ignore her.
‘Two men came along and helped her to her feet, and she (Edwina) told me she was all right. I didn’t go close to her because my concern was to make sure that Belle was under control and out of the way to calm the situation.’
Mr O’Malley, who has lived in whaley Bridge all his life, claimed that he was made aware that Ms Currie had been injured only after police came to see him a week after the incident.
Ms Currie claimed earlier this week that the incident with Belle was the ‘most terrifying experience of my life’.
She added: ‘I was numb with pain... It was awful. My hip was left totally mashed.’
Ms Currie ‘hobbled around’ for 12 days after the fall. But she said the pain was so excruciating that she had to be taken to Macclesfield Hospital.
It was here she discovered the joint had disintegrated. On 24 October she was rushed into surgery to have a replacement hip fitted and was discharged on November 2. On November 28, Mr O’Malley received a letter from Ms Currie outlining the details of the incident and demanding £5,001.98 in compensation.
This includes almost £2,000 for a dog walker while she was injured; £500 for dog boarding fees; £1,350 for a care provider at her home and £1,000 for loss of earnings.
In her letter, Ms Currie writes: ‘Your failure to control your dog has led to considerable disability, pain and suffering, none of it through my own fault. I should therefore like to hear from you how and when you intend to put these matters right.’ But Mr O’Malley insisted: ‘This is a ridiculous sum of money, and I won’t pay it because I haven’t done anything wrong and neither has Belle. It’s disgraceful that a wealthy, well connected woman like Edwina is trying to get money out of me.’
He added: ‘She’s sent this letter to frighten me, but I promise you, it won’t work.’ Following the incident, Derbyshire police told Mr O’Malley that Belle had to be kept on a lead and muzzled in public. He has not faced any charges.