It means that, on average, a person is attacked by a dog every three days, sparking concerns about the number of family pets not under control.

But despite the high number of reported assaults, just 34 were recorded as a crime, while only 14 people were summoned to court to face action.

Figures obtained by the Echo under the Freedom of Information Act from Northumbria Police reveal 116 attacks by dogs last year, while 129 people were bitten in 2004.

Andrew Collins, from Pitcairn Road, Pennywell, is facing plastic surgery to reconstruct part of his leg after he was bitten by a Bull Mastif.

The youngster, who will celebrate his 14th birthday in just a few days time, has been physically and mentally scarred by the attack which left him needing 40 stitches to his chest, shoulder and leg.

Suffering a broken collar bone and punctured lung during the mauling in September 2004, Andrew has today been left terrified of animals.

Dad Derek, 50, said: "He has come running back into the house after seeing dogs without leads. He's had to endure so much pain. "

Andrew's mum Maureen, 47, says her son's personality has changed since the incident.

She added: "He played football for Pennywell Youth Project but when he tried to go back after he'd been in hospital, he just couldn't do it.

"He gets frustrated with himself and angry. The effects of this attack are just going on and on."

The Collins family believe dog owners need to take more responsibility for their pets to help bring down the alarming statistics.

Mum-of-four Maureen added: "Most dog owners do take the right precautions, but there is a small minority letting everyone else down."

Information received by the Echo reveals that, in most cases, when a dog attack has been recorded as a crime, the owner is identified and summoned to court.

In the past two years, 14 people have been summoned in front of magistrates. From that, one person was charged for related offences.


Dog experts say it is up to owners to "socialise" their puppies to make sure they are comfortable around children and strangers.

Jo Corney, a dog trainer who runs puppy school classes at Gilley Law, said: "Like everyone else, dogs need to be taught how to behave in all social situations.

"Children move and react very differently to adults which can be alarming to a dog. This is why we encourage families to come along to puppy training days.

"Bull mastif and Rottweiler dogs have such a bad reputation because they are bigger and more frightening that many breeds, so chances are the cases involving them are reported more."



'I thought I was going to die'

AN animal lover today told how she feared for her family's life after a rescue dog turned savage.
Mandy McCormella watched in horror as Rocky the Rottweiler bit the head off her cat before turning on the 42-year-old and her mother.
Mandy said she watched helplessly as her 19-year-old cat, Suzi, was savaged – the same day she had kindly given the dog a home.
As blood sprayed across the room Mandy, from Hill Gardens, West Boldon, said she thought she was going to die.
She rescued 18-month-old Rocky from the West Hall Kennels in Cleadon after he suffered horrendous cruelty at the hands of his previous owners.
"He seemed to get on great with me, when I took him home he was lying in front of the fire fast asleep," said Mandy.
But later that night, as she was watching TV, Rocky attacked one of her six cats.
The mum-of-one added: "The next thing I know he went off it. He had the cat in his mouth I was trying to get her out of it but the dog wasn't having any of it.
"He went berserk and attacked me, I was terrified. I thought I was going to die.
"He was just so strong and I have bite marks all over my arm, then he turned on my mother."
Mandy managed to get the dog out of the house before calling animal wardens.
She was taken to South Tyneside District Hospital with her 69-year-old mother Elizabeth to receive treatment on a dislocated shoulder.
She may now have to have an operation after losing the feeling in her fingers on her right hand. Rocky has now been destroyed.
Kennel manager Sarah Wilkinson was shocked by the attack calling it "an unfortunate accident".
She said: "This is the first time anything like this has happened in the past six years since I started working here.
"This lady was told everything possible about Rocky when she came to the kennels, but we always tell people that we don't know what the dogs are like."