Dog owners warned after Peterborough posties suffer pet attacks

Dog owners are being urged to keep their pets under control after a number of Peterborough posties were attacked by pooches in the past year.

New statistics released by the Royal Mail showed there were five attacks and post men and women in the city in 2022.

Now bosses are urging dog owners to make sure measures are taken to stop further incidents, with a Dog Safety Week campaign being launched.

Dog Safety Week runs from July 3 until July 9.

Lizz Lloyd, Health & Safety Director, Royal Mail, said: “We are concerned to see attacks on our staff have increased this year.

“We know the number of attacks rises during the school holidays and in the summer months when parents and children are at home and dogs are sometimes allowed unsupervised in the garden or out onto the streets without restraints. So, while we want our customers to enjoy being outside with their pets, we also want to ask them to consider the danger unsupervised dogs pose to our colleagues.”

Royal Mail said that across the country there were 1,916 dog attacks reported on its staff last year, an average of 37 attacks every week, with some leading to permanent and disabling injuries.

There were 381 injuries suffered through the letterbox – accounting for 20 per cent of attacks on postal workers. Letterbox attacks were the subject of a 2020 High Court ruling that stated dog owners (or those in care of a dog) can be prosecuted if their pets have free access to the letterbox and cause injury to any delivery operative, whether the owner is at home or not.

Dave Joyce, National Health & Safety Officer, Communication Workers’ Union, said: “The key objective of Dog Awareness Week is primarily to remind the public to be aware of their legal and moral responsibilities to control their dogs and prevent dog attacks on postal workers who are providing them with a great public service.

“The public need to be aware that if their dog attacks a postal worker, they can be prosecuted either by the police, local authority or by Royal Mail via a private prosecution.”

Please visit www.royalmail.com/dogawareness for hints and tips on dog safety.