Heed Thy Mother And Thy Father....

On Tuesday Bristow was handed a two year community order and ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation by Judge Clement Goldstone QC after admitting being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury.

She was also told to complete a 20 day rehabilitation course with the Probation Service.

The 49-year-old was told that, if necessary, she must sell her other dog - a 12-year-old Teacup Chihuahua - to pay the compensation after Judge Goldstone said: “It’s the least you can do to repay the wrong that is incalculable to the boy and his mother.”

I doubt it'll fetch a lot!

Describing the dog as “unmanageable”, Judge Goldstone said pictures of the boy’s injuries would “haunt you for the rest of your life.”

He added: “Staffies are high maintenance dogs. It’s amazing the amount of times these courts hear that the way the dog behaved was totally out of character. Well nobody could say, sadly, that it was the first time that a dog of this kind had behaved in that way.”

Quite so.

But I can't help but feel that maybe there's someone else who should have been sharing the dock with her...

The court heard the incident occurred at Bristow’s home in Citron Close, Walton, in summer last year as she chatted with the victim’s mum.

Chris Hopkins, prosecuting, told the court the pair intended to continue their conversation inside the house and aimed to go in through the back garden.

He said: “The defendant told the boy’s mother the dog would be OK but would jump up because it was excited.

“The boy told his mother he didn’t want to go in but she held his hand and told him it would be ok, as she didn’t want him to be scared of dogs.”

Gosh, nice one, mum! That worked out pretty well, didn't it?