Royal Mail reports over 2,000 dog attacks on staff
Royal Mail reported over 2,000 dog attacks on its staff in the past year, including an incident where a postwoman was bitten in Bristol.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Royal Mail has reported more than 2,000 dog attacks on its staff in the past year, a figure the company describes as unacceptably high despite a decrease from previous years. The attacks have left some workers with severe injuries, including a postwoman in Bristol who was badly bitten in January and says the incident has left her 'a shell of her former self'. The company is urging pet owners to take more responsibility, suggesting simple measures such as installing dog gates to prevent animals from reaching postmen and women when doors are opened.
In a separate but related incident, a local campaigner in the West Country, Danica Priest, was bitten while delivering leaflets during the local elections. She put her hand through a letterbox and had part of her finger bitten off by a dog that had no history of aggression. The owners, who were dog-sitting for a relative, later brought the severed finger to the hospital on ice, but surgeons could not reattach it. Priest underwent reconstructive surgery and now uses a spatula or stick to post items through letterboxes, saying she has become 'afraid of letterboxes' rather than dogs. The police were involved but she chose not to press charges. The incident highlights the unpredictable nature of dog attacks and the need for caution, even with animals that have never bitten before.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | ITV |
|---|---|
| A local campaigner, Danica Priest, had part of her finger bitten off by a dog with no prior history of aggression while leafleting. | |
| A postwoman in Bristol was badly bitten by a dog in January. | |
| Royal Mail reported over 2,000 dog attacks on staff in the past year, a decrease but still unacceptably high. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This channel focused on the Royal Mail statistics but gave significant airtime to a local personal story of a campaigner bitten while leafleting. The tone was empathetic and cautionary, using the interview to illustrate that attacks can happen with any dog, even those with no history of aggression. The segment also included practical advice from the victim about using a spatula to avoid letterbox bites.
- “We've seen some horrendous attacks over the year. We've seen people who've had significant facial injuries and have had to have plastic surgery to fix those, wounds, you know, and all of this is entirely preventable if we just work together to find a solution.”
- “I was doing my leafleting and I put one of my leaflets through the door, took my hand out and just saw blood and knew something was wrong and kind of went into shock, called 999 and yeah, realized that part of my finger had been bitten off.”
- “They told me I'd be afraid of dogs and I'm not, but I'm actually, I'm afraid of letterboxes, I just don't want to put my finger anywhere where I can't see it now.”
Broadcast Timeline
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