Teenager Awarded £2,000 in Compensation After Dog Attack

Posted on Jun 29, 2009 
 

A teenage boy has been awarded £2,000 in compensation by a court in Norfolk after a savage dog attack left him with serious injuries requiring more than 175 stitches. 
 
In the horrific ordeal, which took place in an alleyway near his home, 15 year old Christopher Woods sustained two arm fractures, muscle damage, puncture wounds to his leg and required a skin graft, over 175 stitches and was told that he was lucky not to lose one of his eyes.  
 
The accident happened when the Alsatian, Rocky, owned by Christopher Russell of North Lynn, escaped into an alley way at the back of his owner's house. Mr Russell had gone out for the day so Mr Russell's teenage son and Mr Woods followed the dog. In the alley, Russell's son asked Mr Woods to catch the dog by his collar because he was "a bit timid" of the Alsatian.  
 
As Woods grabbed Rocky's collar and took him towards the house, Rocky attacked him, biting both his arms and "pulling and tugging and growling." Woods managed to get away from the dog but the dog chased him, biting one of his legs.  
 
After admitting that his dog was out of control in a public place on May 23rd 2009, Mr Russell was ordered to pay £2,000 in compensation to Christopher Woods and was given a 6 week prison sentence (suspended for 1 year), and ordered to do 240 hours of community service. The court also ruled that Rocky should be destroyed.  
 
Russell's lawyer, Tim Bartlam, defended his client, saying that Russell had no fear of Rocky and that he had owned him for four years without any problems. He also said that the dog was usually confined to the house but that Russell's teenage son had left the garden gate "insecure" by accident and that is how the dog escaped.  
 
Mr Bartlam also said that there was no animosity between Russell and the Woods family and that the case had hit Russell very hard.