Claire Neal (pictured) has admitted having a dangerous dog out of control
The owner of a dangerous Staffordshire bull terrier, that savagely attacked 12 children after running into a playground, has been jailed for four years.
Claire Neal’s brown and white dog Marley was already subject to a destruction order after biting a group of children in 2015.
But the 38-year-old let it escape from her home again in May last year, when it managed to get into a play park in Blyth, Northumberland.
She initially denied the dangerous dog charges, claiming the dog belonged to the authorities after the 2015 attack.
But at Newcastle Crown Court she changed her plea to guilty and she was today jailed for four years and banned from keeping dogs for life.
The animal escaped from Neal’s address and had followed a teenager along the street, who thought it was ‘nice’.
Newcastle Crown Court heard screaming children clambered up trees and climbing frames in a bid to get away from the animal, who had been trained by Neal’s partner to be aggressive.
The frightened victims, who were as young as five, were left bleeding from puncture wounds to the skin and with torn clothes from the dog’s teeth.
One little girl was left with wounds that looked like ‘Swiss cheese’ due to the amount of punctures.
Neal, who has been prosecuted twice before because of the animal biting children, had initially denied owning a dog dangerously out of control – claiming that Marley belonged to authorities after its destruction was ordered by a court.
The mother-of-two, who was banned from keeping animals as as result of her two convictions, insisted that the dog ‘belonged to the court or the police’.
But the 39-year-old later changed her plea to guilty and has been told by a judge: ‘It was not the dog’s fault, it was not the police’s fault, it was the fault of yours.’
Judge Sarah Mallet told her: ‘That dog had, on two previous occasions, bitten children. An order had been made you should have the dog destroyed.
‘You ignored that order and made no improvements in arrangements to prevent the dog from injuring others. Injuries were caused to 12 people, all children.’
Despite already being subject to a destruction order, her dog Marley was allowed to escape and attacked 12 children in a park. Their injuries (pictured) were so bad some were rushed to hospital
Describing the scene, a stepfather of one of the injured children said it was ‘horrific’
The judge said as well as the injuries, which required stitches, staples, surgery and skin grafts, the victims would have been caused serious psychological harm by the ordeal.
Judge Mallett said Neal was responsible for a 14-month old dog having to be destroyed and said the the animal’s upbringing played a ‘significant role’ in it’s behaviour.
The judge told her: ‘It is, in my view, ridiculous to suggest Marley was not your dog.
You were the owner and you were entirely responsible for her at all times, albeit you never acted as a responsible pet owner.’
The attack took place in a park (pictured) in Blyth, Northumberland in May last year
The 38-year-old has been warned by the judge she faces a stretch in prison
Neal said, ‘I’m really sorry, I apologise’, as she was led away to start her sentence.
The court heard it was on May 18 the animal escaped from Neal’s garden, after being unable to get back into the house, and ended up at a park packed full of children playing.
Prosecutor Fiona Clancy told the court the animal’s attention was initially attracted by a ball that a six-year-old was playing with.
When the child tried to take the ball back, Marley started to attack.
Miss Clancy said: ‘It started to bite her, it pulled her along the ground.
‘Children started to run and it chased them, in turn, wounding arms, wounding legs and pulling children to the ground.
‘Some climbed fences, some climbed climbing frames in a bid to escape.
‘Some made it to safety. Children saw parents running for them, they then made a move to get out of the park, only for the dog to then turn on them and bite them a well.’
One parent told an earlier court hearing how his step-daughter was injured in the frenzied attack.
He said: ‘Children were scattered about left right and centre. It was chaos, kids and adults everywhere.
‘People were screaming and crying. It was mostly kids but adults were screaming too.’
The court heard how the man’s child had been bitten by the dog, who was seen with blood on it’s teeth, and needed to attend hospital to have her wounds cleaned.
The witness continued: ‘It looked like Swiss cheese with so many puncture wounds and there was a gash. It was deep.’
Another witness who saw the attack said at the time it was like a ‘horror scene’.
Jane Foley, defending, said Neal has been ‘very upset’ by what happened to the children and has suffered personal difficulties.
Miss Foley said ‘feelings running high’ in the community would make it difficult for Neal to return after she had completed her prison sentence.