A woman in Southborough says she wants more action from the authorities to combat irresponsible dog owners after she was bitten on the face and arms by a large dog.

The victim was subjected to an unrelenting attack from the dog – which was not on its lead and out of control – in the woods in Southborough Common on January 12^th.

The injuries required hospital treatment. But despite initial suggestions by a police officer that the owner of the dangerous dog could be ordered to have it muzzled and put on a lead in public, the police now say no civil action can be enforced.

In a statement to Southborough News on Monday, the police said the matter had been dealt with by a so-called “community resolution.”

The dog that caused the injuries was a fox red Labrador called Liska (pictured below with the woman who was walking the Labrador). The dog was in season at the time.

The Labrador initially appeared friendly, but then circled the victim’s own smaller dog – before the Labrador closed its jaws on the smaller dog.

To save the life of her own small dog, the woman then lifted her dog into her arms and walked away, but the Labrador went after them.

The Labrador then repeatedly leapt up to try to attack the small dog and the victim. The woman victim (her injured face shown below) eventually managed to grab the collar of the Labrador and its owner finally put the Labrador on a lead.

The police promised to visit the home of the Labrador’s owner but no such visit appears to have taken place. The officer who spoke to the victim now says no civil orders to muzzle dangerous dogs can be enforced by either the police or dog wardens.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has been notified, but apparently not the owner of the woods which is Southborough Town Council.

Kent Police were asked for a statement on the incident last Thursday and provided one today from Inspector Ian Jones of the Tunbridge Wells Community Safety Unit, which was as follows: “Kent Police received a report of a dog attacking another dog at around 10.45am in Southborough Common on Thursday 12 January 2022. The owner of the dog that was harmed also sustained injuries, which required hospital treatment.”

The statement continues: “Kent Police takes reports of this nature extremely seriously and investigations can result in animals being seized and cases pursued through the courts, which ultimately may lead to the animal being destroyed. However, we always keep victims’ wishes at the heart of our decision-making and sometimes they don’t want to pursue a prosecution. In this eventuality, a community resolution is another outcome favoured by some victims.”

“A community resolution is an agreement between the victim and offender, facilitated by the police, to resolve matters through communication and education. In this instance, officers visited the victim to discuss the incident, where it was agreed that the best course of action would be to give the dog owner words of advice, including how to keep their dog under control.”

“Officers spoke to the owner of the other dog to advise how best to prevent further incidents, making them aware of the potential consequences should they not have control of their animal.”

The statement concluded: “We encourage all dog owners and walkers to safeguard themselves. When out walking, keep your phone charged and switched on, avoid areas known to be used by unleashed animals, and walk with others if possible. If you come across a dog you are concerned about, avoid them or walk the other way, and contact the local dog warden.”

In a separate recent attack in Tunbridge Wells, a man’s Dachshund dog was killed by another out-of-control dog.

A woman in Southborough says she wants more action from the authorities to combat irresponsible dog owners after she was bitten on the face and arms by a large dog.

The victim was subjected to an unrelenting attack from the dog – which was not on its lead and out of control – in the woods in Southborough Common on January 12^th.

The injuries required hospital treatment and the police investigation concluded the injuries reached the legal threshold of Actual Bodily Harm.

Despite initial suggestions by a police officer that the owner of the dangerous dog could be ordered to have it muzzled and put on a lead in public, the police now say no civil action can be enforced.

The dog that caused the injuries was a fox red Labrador called Liska (pictured below with the woman who was walking the Labrador). The dog was in season at the time.

The Labrador initially appeared friendly, but then circled the victim’s own smaller dog – before the Labrador closed its jaws on the smaller dog.

To save the life of her own small dog, the woman then lifted her dog into her arms and walked away, but the labrador went after them.

The Labrador then repeatedly leapt up to try to attack the small dog and the victim. The victim eventually managed to grab the collar of the Labrador and its owner finally put the Labrador on a lead.

The police promised to visit the home of the Labrador’s owner but no such visit appears to have taken place. The officer who spoke to the victim now says no orders to muzzle dangerous dogs can be enforced by either the police or dog wardens.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has been notified, but apparently not the owner of the woods which is Southborough Town Council.

Kent Police were asked for a statement on the incident last Thursday but have not responded.

In a separate recent attack in Tunbridge Wells, a man’s Dachshund dog was killed by another out-of-control dog.

The panto “Dick Whittington’s Adventures in Southborough” opens tonight in the new Southborough Football Pavillion promising fun for all ages.

Starring Emily Cooper (pictured below) as Dick Whittington, it runs for 3 days starting on Friday 13 January with 5 performances including matinees at Noon on Saturday and Sunday.

Dick Whittington travels “all the way from Tonbridge to Southborough because I thought the streets were paved with gold.”

Martin Collis (below), who plays Thomas the cat, says it is the tenth pantomime he’s performed in.  He says: “I am the hero of this story because I slay the rats.”

Tickets can be booked through thecommunitypanto.eventbrite.co.uk. The Friday evening opening performance is at 7pm, while  Saturday and Sunday evening shows are at 5pm.

The rats are played by Harrison Wheeler, Lea Lowe and Jacob Murray (all below).

Meanwhile Oscar Collis (below) plays the Mayor of Southborough.

And Rosie Mellerick (below) is Fanny Fitzwarren.

Last year’s Southborough panto was held at the new Southborough Civic Centre, which replaced the Royal Victoria Hall – home of theatre and panto for the town for the previous hundred years.

The panto director and producer, Nell Price (below) told Southborough News she was disappointed that – this year – they hadn’t been able to return to the much larger new hall in Southborough Civic Centre.

Nell Price said: “We absolutely loved having our panto in the Civic Centre last year – but unfortunately this year we couldn’t come to an agreement with Southborough Town Council for being able to use the space in a long term plan.  We just can’t afford to hire it at the cost it is at the moment.”

Nell Price explained: “We are a Community Pantomime. We don’t charge “show fees”. We try to make it as inclusive as possible, so everybody can take part, so they are not excluded because they can’t afford it.”

Actors – and parents of child actors – often pay “show fees” to productions for the privilege of being in the show.  Without such fees, it means there are no initial funds for the production to pay advance booking fees to the Town Council.

Nell Price says: “Luckily we have got the Tunbridge Wells Youth Football club that have very kindly allowed us to use their pavilion, so long may it be in Southborough.”  The Football Club are not charging the panto for hire of their hall, but the club will benefit from increased bar and snack sales.

Last year, Southborough Town Council let the panto use the Civic Centre space for free.  Nell Price says the deal that the panto offered the Council was that any profit they made (including profits on a bar and refreshments) would go to the Town Council.

At the previous location of the Angel Centre, the panto had built up a big following and made a profit of several thousand pounds.  Nell Price argues that would actually be a larger return in the long run for the Town Council than the fixed hire fee they wanted up front.  But her arguments only managed to persuade a couple of members of the Town Council and the plan was rejected.

The current annual losses of running the new Southborough Civic Centre are funded by the council tax payers of Southborough. But the council says in the next year the Civic Centre’s facilities will be radically improved by a bar and a cinema screen, which should bring in increased revenue.