VIDEO: Posties bite back after series of dog attacks

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MANSFIELD posties are pleading with pet owners to control their animals after suffering NINE dog attacks since April.
Postmen and women being bitten by dogs has long been a source of comedy — with one of the most famous examples being Dennis the Menace's dog Gnasher and his reign of terror against the postman in the popular comic The Beano.

But dog attacks can have much more serious implications — as Mansfield postwoman Heather Swales will testify after she had one of her fingers bitten to the bone while she was out delivering mail.

Speaking to Chad this week, she said the attack had left her with continuous numbness on her finger and had affected her confidence when out on a round.

"I put my fingers through (the letterbox to push through a letter), but at that moment something grabbed hold of my hand," she said.

"At first I thought I had got in caught in the letterbox, but then something started biting into my finger.

"What seemed like hours was probably only a few seconds, but as the dog was biting I was pulling away which obviously made it worse.

"I was obviously in some kind of panic, but eventually my brain must have kicked in because with my other hand I actually banged on the door and this is when the dog let go and I managed to pull my finger out.

"As I pulled it out I just had a few scratches on top of my finger and thought it wasn't too bad.

"But then as I stood there blood started to drop down and as I turned my hand over the whole skin was ripped back and my finger was open and blood was pouring out."

Heather had to be taken to hospital by a nearby resident and was then given between 15 and 20 stitches to seal up the wound.

To help battle this worrying trend Royal Mail bosses are asking dog owners to keep their dogs away from the postmen.
Some of the proposed solutions include:


* Fitting a box on the outside of the property so dogs cannot get to the postman.

* Fitting a box on the inside of the door so the dogs can't bite at the letterbox.

* Restraining dogs so they can't access the delivery point during delivery times


Mansfield's postmen carry equipment to scare off dogs — including a spray and a high-pitched ultrasound device — but they sometimes struggle to get them out in time to fend off the attacking animal.

Mansfield Delivery Office manager Hannah Stott added: "Dogs are the most common cause of accidents when our postmen and women are out on delivery.

"There was a lady in Wakefield last year who had her finger bitten clean off when she was delivering mail and they actually had to break down the door to retrieve the finger, so it can be really serious.

"Of course there's lots of friendly dogs everywhere and the postmen have probably got lots of dogs that have become their friends on delivery.

"But all dogs are capable of turning — particularly if there is a postman or woman who isn't familiar with that particular delivery route.

"The dogs can be really protective of their property and their owners because a stranger on their property is seen as a threat to them."