Chavs & Dogs - A Dangerous Combination...

A teenage girl who was walking a dog which attacked a small child leaving her with horrific injuries, did so for payment in cannabis, a youth court heard.

The girl, who is from Chatham, but can't be named because of her age, was charged with being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control, after an incident in Jenkins Dale, in Chatham, in April.

The dog, which belonged to two other people she had befriended, mauled the little girl's face before clamping its jaws around her head in front of other children, who tried to fight it off.

The police turned up & gunned the thing down. The dog, not the teenage chav, sadly.

The court also heard the teenager, who had never been in trouble with the law before, blamed herself for what happened.

Well, yes. Probably the one true moment of self-reflection she's ever had!

Luke Mayer defending, said: "This was a horrendous incident for all parties. She clearly blames herself.

"She is not the owner of the dog. She did have problems at home and she looked up to Hayley and Michael.

"They were older than her and she had a misplaced respect. She thought it was an honour to walk the dog.

"She had only walked it twice before that night. She was smoking cannabis with them sometimes in their flat."

Lovely!

"They are the adults. It was difficult for her to control the power of the dog. She couldn't control it.

"She is on sleeping tablets and has nightmares. She put her hands in the dog's mouth and there was blood everywhere.

"She is perhaps a victim herself, she's trying to address her issues and is taking everything offered to her.

"She is one of the most remorseful people I have come across."

And you must come across a hell of a lot. Like all the other defence mouthpieces.

Magistrates decided to order supervision on the girl for 12 months and ordered she carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Doing what? And what about the owners of the hellbeast?

Thornton and Eldridge, both from Chatham, denied being the owner of a dog which caused injury to the child while dangerously out of control in a public place when they appeared at Maidstone Crown Court last week.

The court heard Thornton, of Ryde Close, and Eldridge, of Gorse Avenue, had only owned the dog for a week and believed it to be a lawful Staffordshire bull terrier cross-breed.

Thornton and Eldridge were granted conditional bail until their trial set for August 13 next year.

Those long, slow wheels of justice are barely moving at this point....