More than 200 dogs destroyed after nearly 700 attacks across Sheffield, police figures reveal

Nearly 700 dog attacks have been reported to police in Sheffield since 2019, statistics obtained by The Star under the Freedom of Information Act reveal.

In that time, 211 dogs have been destroyed after being seized across the city by South Yorkshire Police.

The data shows how the number of attacks has risen consistently over the last three-and-a-half years, with 161 offences recorded in 2019, 178 reported in 2020, 209 logged last year and 115 recorded in the first six months of 2022.

The figures are for alleged offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act of an owner or person in charge allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control, injuring a person or assistance dog.

The maximum sentence is five years of custody for attacks in which a person is injured and three years for those in which an assistance dog is killed or injured. Fatal attacks can result in a jail term of up to 14 years.

In 2019, South Yorkshire Police destroyed 32 dogs across Sheffield. That figure rose to 56 in 2020, 58 during 2021 and 65 to date in 2022.

Across that period, a total of 748 dogs were seized by police, including 252 so far this year.

Dog attack: Dog destroyed after savaging postwoman in Sheffield

The Star asked for a breakdown by breed of which dogs had been seized and destroyed but we were told this could not be provided.

There have been a number of serious dog attacks in Sheffield and South Yorkshire over the last year.

Most recently, 43-year-old mum Joanne Robinson was mauled to death at a house on Masefield Road, in Rotherham, on July 15, with a 42-year-old man also seriously injured in the attack by an American XL ‘bully’ bulldog.

In May, a 77-year-old man was reportedly bitten on the hand and arm by an ‘out of control’ German Shepherd on Shaftsbury Avenue, in Intake, Doncaster.

In March, 12-year-old Keeley Leigh was left unable to walk after being pinned to the ground by a dog as she played with her friends on Bloomhill Road in Doncaster.

That same month, a postal worker was reportedly ‘almost killed’ after being set upon by a dog while delivering mail on Hill Top Crescent in Waterthorpe, Sheffield.

In January, another postwoman, 46-year-old mum-of-two Sarah King, had part of her finger bitten off while delivering mail near Mexborough.

She is still undergoing counselling, is waiting to have a prosthetic finger fitted and was left so traumatised that she has only just been able to return to work part-time and is still not well enough to resume her rounds.

In February, a woman was reportedly sitting in the Wisewood Inn, Loxley, when her dog was attacked by another dog. When she attempted to pull the two apart, she was bitten on the hand, suffering nerve damage.

In October last year, a Doncaster boy was left in a wheelchair facing years of recovery after being attacked by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier on Essex Avenue, in Intake.

Back in September 2020, 12-day-old Elon Jase Ellis-Joynes was fatally attacked by a Chow Chow-cross called Teddy at his home on Welfare Road, in Woodlands, Doncaster.

His father, Steven Joynes, pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog causing injury resulting in death and was jailed for four years.

This article was originally published with different figures and was amended following clarification by South Yorkshire Police