Teesside’s reputation as a dog bite black spot has been enhanced by two more attacks in the area.
Official statistics show the Teesside, Durham and Darlington area has one of the highest rates of dog attacks in the country.
The figures have been highlighted once again after a horrific attack that left a Grove Hill dad-of-three requiring hospital treatment after a large Japanese Akita dog went for his baby son.
The unnamed 27-year-old was returning from a visit to Stewart Park when the dog ran at his family. A friend fought the animal off with a stick, but the victim received more than 50 bites during a ten-minute ordeal.
Police later shot the animal, which it emerged had escaped from its home on Marton Road after some electric gates unexpectedly opened.
The attack comes just days after police appealed for help tracing a dog that attacked a woman in Valley Gardens, Marske.
She was walking in the park with her dog when a white Staffordshire Bull Terrier-Bulldog cross ran towards them.
The victim picked up her own dog to prevent it from being attacked, but the other dog jumped up and bit her on the arm. A woman took hold of the dog and made off in a vehicle with a man.
Figures compiled by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show there were 269 hospital admissions due to dogs in the region in a one-year period during 2013-14, an average of 22.8 per 100,000 people.
The ratio is more than three times that of the least affected area, London, which had 634 admissions (7.6 per 100,000 people). Only Merseyside suffered more dog attacks per person.
Attacks appear to be on the increase, with 6,743 hospital admissions caused by dog bites in England in a one-year period during 2013-14, a 5.8% increase on the 6,372 admissions recorded in the previous 12 months.
Nationally, more than 200,000 people are bitten by dogs each year, costing the NHS around £3m for the treatment of injuries.
Macks have personal injury solicitors who specialise in dog bite claims. Our personal injury team understand that dog attacks can also have a psychological impact on the victim and can be particularly traumatic for a child.
We aim for compensation to cover costs for the treatment of both physical and psychological injuries. Our personal injury solicitors can be contacted on 01642 252 828.
