Four people in hospital after dog attack in London cemetery
Four people rushed to hospital after being attacked by a dog in a west London cemetery.
The group suffered puncture wounds at Margravine Cemetery, near the Barons Court area of Hammersmith, at around 11.15am on Saturday.
They took themselves to hospital where their conditions were classed as non-life-threatening.
A 48-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog. The pet’s breed has not yet been established.
The Metropolitan Police has asked anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward.
The Dangerous Dog Act 1991 makes it illegal for a dog to be unmanageable, attack or bite anyone.
A dog is considered ‘out of control’ if it hurts someone or makes them fearful because they believe they will get injured.
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Depending on the situation, a person found in charge of an out-of-control dog can be fined or even sent to prison for up to six months.
Officers have said the number of dangerous dog-related incidents has more than doubled in the last five years.
There have already been 180 in the first six months of this year, compared with 77 in 2018.
Over the weekend, South Yorkshire Police released bodycam footage of an American XL bulley chasing an officer during a raid.
The force’s crime commissioner Alan Billings said: ‘Over the last few months I have become increasingly concerned about the number of reports of dog attacks causing significant injuries and sometimes even fatalities.
‘This doesn’t seem to be just a problem in South Yorkshire but is happening all over the country.
‘During the pandemic, the number of dogs nationally rose from 9 million to over 12 million, with many people buying dogs for the first time with no prior experience, a lack of socialisation, and no access to dog training classes during that time.
‘These lockdown puppies have now grown into mature dogs and we are seeing the consequences.’
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