Owner of dog who attacked five-year-old boy ordered to pay £2,000

The owner of a dog that savaged a five-year-old boy outside a supermarket, causing "horrific" injuries, has been ordered to pay him £2,000 compensation.

Robert Wright, 69, of Nuneaton, took a 10-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier with him when he went to Sainsbury's in the town in November, a court heard.

The boy's facial injuries were treated at hospital, but he has been left with scarring.

Wright was given a suspended prison sentence and the dog has been put down.

On Thursday, the judge at Warwick Crown Court, Recorder Charles Thomas, banned Wright from having a dog for life.

Wright, from Kensington Court, Queen Elizabeth Road, admitted having a dog dangerously out of control which caused injury.

He was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with a 21:00 to 07:00 curfew for four months.

Prosecutor Laura Hollingbery said before going inside the Sainsbury's store, Wright tied the dog's lead to a pillar and asked a staff member to keep an eye on it.

But the court heard while he was in the store, a woman arrived with her son - who ran ahead of her - and as he ran past the dog, it jumped at him.

The animal savaged the boy's face and also bit his armpit as the mother hit it with her handbag and managed to pull the boy away.

Miss Hollingbery said it was not the first incident involving Wright's dog.

In 2017, she said it had bitten a woman to her arm outside Wright's home, and in September 2019, it was tied to railings outside the same Sainsbury's store when it lunged at a three-year-old boy.

Debra White, defending, said Wright was of positive good character, having served in the Army for 14 years and been in regular employment since then.

She said: "He is genuinely remorseful and desperately sorry for what happened to the victim on that day."

Speaking about the five-year-old, the judge said: "The injuries were horrific, I have seen the pictures.

"He had to be treated at hospital and will require ongoing treatment for his scarring and is likely to be scarred for life."

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