Two to face trial over Postman dog attack
26th November 2009
A father and his daughter are to face trial on the 8th January next year
A father and his daughter are to face trial on the 8th January next yearafter their two Rottweilers attacked and injured a postman.
Millionaire businessman Robert Stewart, 44, and his daughter Emma,
22, both of Gazeley Lane, Cambridge, appeared before magistrates on
Friday 27 November. They are accused of being responsible for
dangerous animals which caused injury. Both were remanded on bail.
Magistrates committed the case for trial at Cambridge Crown Court
and the Stewarts are scheduled to appear before a judge on 8 January
for a pre-trial hearing.
Postman Keith Davies, nearly lost an arm and suffered severe injuries,
needing extensive surgery and skin grafts as a result of the attack in
the week before Christmas 2008 when he was mauled by two
Rottweilers. Mr Davies, 54, was covering a round for a colleague when
he was savaged after the dogs burst through an insecure gate.
Paramedics called to the scene were 'traumatised' by what they saw.
Keith Davies spent weeks in hospital, underwent numerous skin grafts
and needed intensive physiotherapy to help regain the use of his
injured limb.
At first it appeared the Stewarts would not be prosecuted because the
attack technically happened on private land.
The case was eventually allowed to proceed on the basis of an
argument initially put forward to the Cambridgeshire Police and CPS
by the CWU that the road is open to the public and must be considered
a Public Place. The road had not been 'adopted' by the council, meaning
it is collectively owned by all the people who live along it.
Dave Joyce, National Health and Safety Officer of the Communication
Workers Union, has been leading the CWU's 'Bite-Back' campaign for
the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act to be amended to make dog owners
responsible for their animals on all private land in order to protect the
6,000 postal workers bitten by dogs each year. More than two-thirds
are attacked on private property. Dave welcomed the news that the
case has finally been sent for trial at the Crown Court and said "I hope
that justice is done and appropriate sentences are the result. We will
not make any further comment until the outcome of the trial.
It's the first time a police force has taken this action and tested this
area of the law. If the Stewarts are convicted under the 1991
Dangerous Dogs Act, there could be repercussions for thousands of
dog owners living on unadopted roads around the Country.
The maximum penalty for having a dog dangerously out of control in
a public place is a two-year jail term and unlimited fine.
