Dog-attack victim scarred for life

Scott Lomas pictured after he was attacked by the Staffordshire bull terrier and assaulted by another man

Suspended jail term for man in charge of bull terrier
A WINDOW cleaner who allowed a Staffordshire bull terrier to inflict vicious bites on a defenceless man outside an Oldham shop has been given a three-month suspended prison sentence.

Scott Lomas (42) was savaged by the pet, Kaiser, outside Singh’s Supersaver in London Road, and has been left with scars to his face that will never properly heal.

The animal, which had not been on a lead, sank its teeth into his cheek, which he later described as feeling like his face was being pulled off. It then latched on to his arms, sinking its teeth through the skin to the bone.

Before the dog attacked him, Mr Lomas had been assaulted by one of three men who were with the terrier.

Jake Cutter leaped on him, raining blows on him, and then almost bit his left eyebrow off.

Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court was told that the dog had been in the care of window cleaner Kane Bennett at the time. He was found guilty after a trial of being in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control on May 1 last year.

Sentencing him, judge Yvonne Coppull told him: “Your wholly irresponsible conduct allowed this dog to walk along the high street without a lead, and you became confrontational and aggressive when it was pointed out to you that what you were doing was wrong.”

She said: “To make matters worse, you later lied to the police about the whereabouts of the dog, and it was many months later before it was learned that it was in fact your former partners.”

She told him the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified, but said she had just about been persuaded that it need not be immediate, and agreed to suspend the term for 12 months.

Victim Mr Lomas, who lives in Derker, had bravely intervened when the Staffordshire terrier went for a collie dog that had been tied up outside the Supersaver shop. The attack happened as he was trying to get into his car.

Vanessa Thomson prosecuting, said Mr Lomas, who had been with his wife to a social event, had stopped at the shop to buy a newspaper.

An altercation broke out involving the three men with the dog, which resulted in the attacks.

She said significant injuries had been caused to his arms and face, and he had needed to be taken to hospital for stitches. He would bear permanent scars to his left cheek.

The court was told that father-of-three Bennett (24), of Vulcan Street, Oldham, had maintained that the dog, owned by his ex-partner Samantha Jones, had been on a lead part of the time, and that he had dropped it during the incident.

In addition to the suspended sentence, Judge Coppull banned Bennett from owning a dog for three years, and ordered him to carry out 60 hours unpaid work in the community.

Jake Cutter (21), of Ripponden Road, Watersheddings, who was convicted of a charge of wounding with intent after attacking Mr Lomas, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison at an earlier hearing on April 7.