Dog encounters
Published: 08 April 2017
At the March Parish Council meeting Councillors were dismayed to hear of a recent incident in the Recreation Ground when a dog, off its lead, went bounding over to the kissing gate at the Brook Street entrance and knocked over a child and in doing so scratched the youngster's face and then jumped up at another child. Both young children were upset by the incident, allegedly while the dog's owner was across the other side of the field, unaware of the incident. See note below.
The Recreation Ground, originally purchased in 1935, has been an area that children have been able to enjoy over the years. More recently the parish council has installed additional play equipment and the new area with trim trail and free-standing gym equipment will be enlarged in the next few weeks to accommodate additional equipment. Councillors were recently asked to consider whether the time is now right to consider some form of restriction of access to dogs on the Recreation Ground, either in part or in full, including the possible use of Public Space Protection Orders, to ensure the safety of people using the facilities. There are also plans to introduce CCTV coverage of the play equipment to deter and detect any abuse of the facilities.
Note:
It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, such as: in a public place, in a private place, eg a neighbour’s house or garden or in the owner’s home. A dog is considered to be dangerously out of control if it: injures someone or makes someone worried that it might injure them. See the information at 3 below relating to the penalties if your dog is dangerously out of control.
- For more information on the law relating to dogs, look here.
- For information from RBC on reporting dog nuisance, dog control orders and dog wardens, look here
- For information about controlling your dog in public, look here
- For information on a recent prosecution, look here.