Boy, 10, bitten by out-of-control dog in Walsall

Penny Stanton, who was the owner of the Staffordshire terrier-type dog, and Nicholas Chapman, who had been looking after the animal when it attacked, both appeared before magistrates in the town.

The court heard it was the second time the dog had attacked a child this year.

The boy was walking along Neath Road, Bloxwich, on the afternoon of June 14 when the dog, which was not on a lead, ran out of a garden and bit him on the left wrist, Miss Indira Sharma, prosecuting, said.

"The dog proceeded to shake his arm like a rag doll," she said.

A woman nearby came to the aid of the boy and wrapped a towel around his wrist, the court heard. Miss Sharma said Chapman followed the boy home with the dog to check if he was OK and the youngster was then taken to hospital.

The wound was initially too wide to stitch and required dressing and further treatment.

Chapman later told Stanton about the incident, and she made arrangements for the dog to be destroyed.

Miss Sharma said a 13-year-old girl was also attacked by the dog in Bloxwich earlier this year, when Chapman was again looking after the animal, and she suffered scratches to her stomach.

During a police interview, Stanton said she had an arrangement with Chapman to look after the dog when she was working and trusted him to be responsible. Chapman told police the dog had been on a lead but had got free from its collar.

The court heard that the 10-year-old boy had now become scared of dogs and had nightmares about the attack.

"This is the second time this dog has done that," said Miss Sharma.

"It was only in March that the dog went out and injured someone else. Here is another young person who is clearly very traumatised by this."

Stanton, 39, of Broad Lane, Bloxwich, and Chapman, 42, of Kipling Road, Short Heath, admitted allowing the dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place.

Representing Chapman, Miss Sarah Froggatt said: "He's very sorry for what happened. Chapman was not the owner of the dog. He did walk the dog each day. He says he was surprised by the incident."

Magistrates adjourned the case for reports. Chapman and Stanton were unconditionally bailed until sentencing on August 23.