Photograph by Chris Brown
A postwoman is suing Royal Mail for compensation after she was viciously attacked by a dog.
Patricia Meddings, 44, needed two emergency operations to save her leg, a skin graft, and months of physiotherapy following the attack by a Japanese Akita in Holloway, north London last September.
After a number of complaints from postal workers, the dig’s owner had been told to move the letterbox the garden fence to avoid any dangers posed by the dog. However, the dog was strong enough to break through the gate and attack Meddings and bite her leg and try to drag her to the floor.
After much screaming, the someone shouted at the dog to stop, but the leg was left “hanging by a thread” Meddings told the Evening Standard
Last month, the dog’s owner, Ali Derin, 55, was ordered to pay £860 in compensation after pleading guilty to allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place and has been banned from keeping the animals for life.
However, Meddings contends that the punishment was not big enough, with the attack leaving her regular nightmares and permanent physical scars.
She has now returned to work, but is taking legal action against the Royal Mail for failing to protect her.