Dog attacks up across England and Wales over past five years

Police forces across the country have seen an increase in the number of dog attacks during the past five years.

English and Welsh police forces said annual totals for the number of offences recorded of an out-of-control dog causing injury were on the up. It comes amid deaths from XL Bully attacks in Bristol and Cheshire in recent weeks.

Cleveland Police saw the highest increase at 163% – with 363 incidents reported in 2024 compared with 138 in 2019 – four other forces also saw increases of more than 100%.

One victim, who was attacked by a border terrier, said she “noticed that blood was just pumping out of my leg, I was in agony”.

There were 32,568 recorded offences nationwide in 2024 – a 4% increase on 2023’s total of 31,398, according to Freedom of Information figures obtained by the BBC from every police force in England and Wales.

All forces saw an upward trend in attacks – with South Yorkshire reporting the lowest increase at 22%.

Cheshire and Northamptonshire were not able to offer data up to 2024 and Northumbria use a different method for counting dog attacks.

City of London Police do not collect figures as such incidents are handled by the Metropolitan Police.

The data takes into account all recorded dog attacks and does not offer information on breed or severity of injury.

The actual attack figures are likely to be higher as the data only counts incidents that were reported to police.

Judy Champion was walking home in West Somerset when an elderly man with three dogs parked alongside her.

“As I passed, the dog shot out [of the car] and grabbed onto my leg,” she said.

“I shouted at the man ‘your dog’s bit me, your dog’s bit me’ and he just pulled the dog back, said sorry and walked off.”

Ms Champion had her wound bandaged up and was given a tetanus shot and a course penicillin to resist against any infections.

She said she was left with a deep wound, which left her in “agony” and is still healing more than two months after the incident.

Ms Champion is also a dog owner herself and says the experience has left her wary of other people’s pets.

“I’m not scared of dogs,” she said. “But now I’m looking out for dogs all the time even though I have two of my own.”

The incident happened outside a primary school on a weekday morning.

“There are people coming in and out all the time, it could have happened to anybody,” she added.

Avon and Somerset Police, which covers the area where Ms Champion lives, saw a 56% increase in dog attacks between 2019 and 2024.

The owner of the dog which bit Ms Champion could not be identified so no action was taken.