Homeless man's dog bit woman's face as she fed it sausage roll in Leeds city centre
A pensioner was left needing surgery after a homeless man’s dog attacked her as she tried to feed it a sausage roll.
The 66-year-old woman required surgery after the dog lunged at her and bit her to the eye brow and nose on Briggate in Leeds city centre.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, named Reggie, had previously tried to attack a guide dog, Leeds Crown Court heard.
The dog’s owner, Joseph Driver, admitted having a dog that was dangerously out of control and causing injury.
He was jailed while the dog was ordered to be destroyed.
The court heard that Driver and the dog had been sat on the busy Leeds street, near the junction with Boar Lane, at around 7.45pm on July 25.
The woman approached and tried to give the dog the sausage roll, but it went for her, biting her eyebrow, nose and her right hand.
Driver grabbed the dog to hold it back before carrying it away. The incident was captured on CCTV and police were quickly on the scene to seize the dog.
The victim was taken to hospital where it was found she required surgery. The cut near her eye was around 3cm in length and was through all layers of skin. She also had ligament damage.
In a victim impact statement, read out by prosecutor Safaraz Ahad, the retired woman said: “The attack was terrifying.
“I had no time to protect myself. It all happened in an instant.
“The fear and panic has stayed with me ever since. Everytime I look in the mirror I’m reminded of the attack.”
The court heard that 39-year-old Driver has 17 previous convictions for 26 offences. These include two similar offences.
In 2022 he was found guilty after a trial at Leeds Crown Court for having a dog dangerously out of control that caused injury. In this case, his American Bulldog named Rocky charged at a member of the public and bit their hand.
Driver was given a 15-month jail sentence, suspended for 24 months.
In February of this year, Reggie had twice tried to bite a guide dog, for which Driver was fined £50 at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.
Mitigating, Ian Hudson said Driver had not been to prison since 2015 and had an address to live at in Wakefield, should be be released.
Referencing the dog’s latest attack, Judge Ray Singh said: “The injuries are horrific. It has left her with permanent scarring.”
He said that Driver will have been “aware of Reggie’s temperament” and “knew what he was capable of”, given the attempt to bite the guide dog earlier this year.
He jailed Driver for 16 months.
He also gave him a two-year criminal behaviour order (CBO) and banned him from keeping dogs for 10 years.
Driver told the court that Reggie had already been put down, but Judge Singh said there had been no evidence so ordered the dog be subject to a destruction order.