Upper Eden man fined for aggressive dog's attack on gardener
A man whose German Shepherd repeatedly bit a gardener working at his home has been sentenced.Paul Holroyd thought his pet Rebel was locked in his house, but it managed to push up a door latch and attack Jilly Sandams on 23 June 2024. Appearing at Carlisle Crown Court, the 60-year-old of Upper Eden, near Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, admitted having a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control.Judge Michael Fanning fined Holroyd £150 and made a contingent destruction order, meaning the dog must be kept under strict control including being locked away from visitors and wearing a muzzle in public.
Holroyd was also ordered to pay £2,000 compensation to his victim. The court heard Ms Sandams had decided to accept the landscape work even though she knew the dog was aggressive, because she knew it was kept inside. However, the court heard that while she was working, the dog would throw itself against a patio door.Prosecutor Tim Evans said Ms Sandams became so concerned she texted the dog's owner saying it was "going to take the door out" with its "intense thrusting against it".
'Going to die'
On the day of the attack, she let herself into the garden and could hear the dog "barking and being aggressive", but thought it was locked inside.However, the dog escaped and attacked her as she lay on the ground, leaving her with six bite marks and 12 puncture wounds to her arm. Ms Sandams eventually managed to get up and escape through a gate. In an impact statement, she said she thought she was "going to die".
'Integral part of family'
The court heard that Holroyd, a former highways worker, was left paralysed and a co-worker killed in 2016 when they were struck by a dangerous driver on the M6 near Tebay.Jeff Smith, defending, said there had been no further incidents and a dog expert had concluded Rebel did not pose a threat if kept under control."The dog is an integral part of their family, notwithstanding what has happened," Mr Smith said. The judge told Holroyd: "You were badly injured in the course of your employment, helping the public. "The last thing you would want to do is cause harm to anybody else."
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