Dog owner to pay £1,000 over attack

ASOUTHPORT man has been ordered to pay £1,000 compensation after his dog mauled a neighbour’s arm.

Maureen Lipman required surgery for multiple punctures in her forearm after being bitten by Terry Dickinson’s Staffordshire bull terrier, August, despite it being held on a lead.

Dickinson, 54, of Part Street, was ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to the victim after pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out on control and caused injury.

Prosecuting, Daryl Pollard told South Sefton Magistrates’ Court that Ms Lipman was a neighbour of Dickinson and had been stroking the smaller of his two dogs when the larger one attacked her.

She added that Ms Lipman attended Southport Hospital before being transferred to Whiston Hospital for surgery and is likely to have scarring for quite a long time.

Defending, Natalie Byrne said that Dickinson and his wife had been responsible dog owners for more than 25 years.

She said that while the dog was biting the victim, Dickinson did everything he could to stop it, including calling for a stranger to take the lead of his smaller dog while he tried to pull the larger one away.

She added that he disputed that the dog was out of control but pleaded guilty due to the tightness of the laws.

He had visited Ms Lipman in hospital to check her welfare and tried to take a get well soon card and present to her house but relations had soured by that point and the gift was not welcomed.

She said: “Neither dog is a banned breed and it has never felt appropriate for either to have muzzle because there had been no signs of aggression. Both Mr Dickinson and his wife are entirely remorseful and now hire space on a private field to avoid walking the dogs in public.”

Chair of magistrates Diane Shepherd acknowledged that this was the only problem involving the animal and the effort made by Dickinson to prevent the attack.

As well as compensation, she issued a contingency destruction order, meaning the dog must always wear a muzzle and be kept in control on a lead when in public places. Failure to follow the order would result in the dog being put down.