Man sentenced after “terrifying” dog attack on postal worker in Holloway
An Akita Pic: Rui Viera/PA - Credit: PA Archive/Press Association Images
A man has been banned from owning a dog forever after his giant hound went wild and attacked a terrified postie – scarring her for life.
Ali Derin, 55, of Axminster Road, Holloway, also saw his pet put down, was put on curfew, tagged and ordered to pay more than £850 after the horrific attack by his Japanese Akita last year.
On September 5, the postal worker was doing her rounds in nearby Bennett Court when the massive mutt escaped from a garden, raced up to her and tore into her leg with his teeth.
The first policeman on the scene, Pc Matt Fletcher, helped the stricken woman before tracing the dog to a nearby house. The owner, Derin, was arrsted while the Akita was taken to the police kennel then destroyed.
Pc Matt Fletcher, Tollington Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: “This was a terrifying attack on a female who was just going about her job delivering the post. She has undertaken a number of operations on her leg and will have to live with scarring for the rest of her life.
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“I hope this sentence is a reminder to all dog owners of their responsibilities.”
Akita’s are large, powerful dogs which when fully grown can weigh up to nine stone. The Japanese breed, introduced to the UK in the 1930s, has an independent and dominant character.
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Islington has a long and unhappy history with dangerous dogs – with many people breeding big canines for the wrong reasons; protection and safety.
David Grant, director of Harmsworth Animal Hospital, in Sonderburg Road, Holloway, says his service is completely full with abandoned animals and deals with hundreds of dog bites every year.
Derin was sentenced on Wednesday at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court after earlier pleading guilty to allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place.
