A dog owner has been ordered to keep his pets under proper control after two people were attacked in separate incidents.
Mark Simpson, of Savick Close, Bamber Bridge, was given two dog control orders by South Ribble Magistrates.
He did not attend the hearing and magistrates found the complaints proven in his absence.
As well as imposing the two dog control orders, magistrates also ruled the defendant should pay legal costs of £465.
The orders mean he must keep both dogs muzzled and on leads at all times when they are in a public place, and the dogs must be neutered if they are male. The court heard a carer sustained bites to her buttock, elbow and toe after a beagle dog attacked her while she was visiting the defendant’s elderly mother in his home on June 1 this year.
She eventually managed to flee the house and a neighbour came to her aid after hearing screams for help. The carer needed hospital treatment for her wounds following the attack.
In the second incident, a member of staff at Bamber Bridge police station was bitten on her arm by a German pointer dog on August 11 this year. The court heard Simpson went to the police station to report one of his dogs missing. A public enquiry assistant phoned a woman who had found the dog and arranged for it to be reunited with the owner.
But when the assistant tried to pat the returned dog outside the police station, the defendant’s German pointer dog attacked her and bit her arm.
Coun Peter Mullineaux, South Ribble Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for neighbourhoods and street scene, said: “I’m pleased the court has made control orders for these two dogs, which should help prevent any repeat of these shocking and disgraceful incidents.
“Both victims were simply going about their daily work at the time of these unprovoked attacks, which is completely unacceptable.”
Coun Mullineaux said: “I hope this case will serve as a warning that owners must take responsibility and keep their dogs under control at all times.”
South Ribble Council has adopted a zero tolerance approach to unsupervised dogs in public places, following requests from residents.
Any owner whose dog is found roaming the street or loose on the highway, will be issued with a fixed penalty notice of £75.
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