Officers were called to the fields near Hollinsend Cricket Club off Fox Lane at around 2pm yesterday afternoon (October 31) after a woman was severely bitten on the arm by her own dog. While the breed hasn’t been confirmed by police, witnesses told The Star they believed it was a mastiff.
The dog then reportedly ran from the scene towards Thornbridge Close. Local schools were advised to keep students indoors while police officers attended the scene. Residents told The Star they saw officers arrive ‘armed with shotguns’. Shortly afterwards, gunshots were heard coming from the scene.
How many? Well, less than 19 but who's counting?
One resident said: “I heard what I thought was one shot, and then it went quiet. Two minutes later, they jumped in their police cars and went round to Thornbridge Drive, and my friend told me they appeared there. He said he thought he heard two shots, and then another two.”
Blimey, with shotguns...? Weren't they close enough?
South Yorkshire Police have now confirmed they destroyed the dog at the scene after deeming it a risk to public safety.
A spokesperson for the force said: “It was determined that the dog was a potential risk to public safety and the decision was unfortunately made to destroy the dog to protect the public. Officers continue to investigate the matter to see if any offences had been committed.”
The woman was taken to hospital with serious arm injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.
At least the police didn't pussyfoot around this time. But what's the betting the silly cow faces no charges for keeping a beast like this?
True enough, plod are lousy marksmen. However instead of dwelling on 'there' failures, I try to look for the positives. And one cannot dismiss the possibility of plod shooting each other.
ReplyDeleteThat's only happened once or twice that I can recall. A tribute to the marksman's corp that it's not more common?
ReplyDelete