'Better protection needed for East Lancashire's postmen'

9:00pm Friday 23rd November 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Lisa Woodhouse, Assistant picture editor

ROYAL Mail has welcomed an independent report proposing tougher legal sanctions against owners of dogs which attack postmen and women.

The announcement comes after the publication of an inquiry into dog attacks on postal workers recommended tougher action.

In the BB postcode area, covering Blackburn and Burnley, 22 posties were attacked by dogs while delivering mail between April 2011 and April 2012.

Nationally, more than 3,000 were attacked during the same period.

The figures have reduced in previous years, with 31 attacks reported in the BB postcode area in 2010-11 and 41 in 2009-10.

Tougher measures are available under existing law against owners whose dogs attack people in public places.

But, these sanctions cannot be applied where the attack takes place on private property.

This means that for postmen and women — who each have to visit hundreds of private addresses on their delivery rounds every day — the legal protection against attacks by dogs is limited.

The report calls for the removal of this loophole, enabling criminal sanctions to be taken against owners of dogs which attack people, wherever the attack takes place.

Dave Joyce, the national health and safety officer of the Communication Workers Union, which represents postal workers, said: “The age-old image of the dog attacking the postman is not a laughing matter — thousands of our members are bitten every year and hundreds suffer debilitating injuries which leave them with physical and psychological scarring.”

Comments (15)

9:37pm Fri 23 Nov 12

sonny says...

Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.
Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs. sonny

9:38pm Fri 23 Nov 12

mavrick says...

There can be no excuse for any postman or woman to be attacked by a dog. Every householder should know the postman has to come to the front door to deliver the post. If they are attacked the householder should be prosecuted and the animal removed from them. People should not have to worry about being bitten doing their job.
There can be no excuse for any postman or woman to be attacked by a dog. Every householder should know the postman has to come to the front door to deliver the post. If they are attacked the householder should be prosecuted and the animal removed from them. People should not have to worry about being bitten doing their job. mavrick

11:20pm Fri 23 Nov 12

sonny says...

mavrick wrote:
There can be no excuse for any postman or woman to be attacked by a dog. Every householder should know the postman has to come to the front door to deliver the post. If they are attacked the householder should be prosecuted and the animal removed from them. People should not have to worry about being bitten doing their job.
maybe if postmen came at roughly the same time everyday it would be easier to make sure the dogs out of the way, but my postwussy usually comes anytime between 9am-4pm.

also the word "attacked" is very strong, my postman(a 6ft+ big bloke)refuses to enter my garden even though my dog(a very old harmless small mongrel) is usually locked in the house and just occasionally barking at him through a window!
[quote][p][bold]mavrick[/bold] wrote: There can be no excuse for any postman or woman to be attacked by a dog. Every householder should know the postman has to come to the front door to deliver the post. If they are attacked the householder should be prosecuted and the animal removed from them. People should not have to worry about being bitten doing their job.[/p][/quote]maybe if postmen came at roughly the same time everyday it would be easier to make sure the dogs out of the way, but my postwussy usually comes anytime between 9am-4pm. also the word "attacked" is very strong, my postman(a 6ft+ big bloke)refuses to enter my garden even though my dog(a very old harmless small mongrel) is usually locked in the house and just occasionally barking at him through a window! sonny

11:33pm Fri 23 Nov 12

blylad says...

sonny wrote:
Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.
Royal Mail is hundreds of years old, do people actually have dogs older than that? Dog owners, regardless of their completely unfounded opinion on Postal workers, have a social responsibility to control their' pets. Also if you think Posties are overpaid, please take your 60p and stick it up your backside!
[quote][p][bold]sonny[/bold] wrote: Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.[/p][/quote]Royal Mail is hundreds of years old, do people actually have dogs older than that? Dog owners, regardless of their completely unfounded opinion on Postal workers, have a social responsibility to control their' pets. Also if you think Posties are overpaid, please take your 60p and stick it up your backside! blylad

7:51am Sat 24 Nov 12

greenscreener says...

If you can't keep your dog under control then go collect your post from Canterbury Street. A couple of trips to that little House of Fun and Fido would be nailed to the floor pretty quickly.

Or we could just give Postmen Tasers and help them get on wth the job.
If you can't keep your dog under control then go collect your post from Canterbury Street. A couple of trips to that little House of Fun and Fido would be nailed to the floor pretty quickly. Or we could just give Postmen Tasers and help them get on wth the job. greenscreener

8:21am Sat 24 Nov 12

useyourhead says...

One option may be to require anyone who has a dog on property that makes posties cross private space to get to the letterbox to install a mailbox to the boundary of the property, another plus to this would be much quicker rounds as it is very time consuming trekking up and down every garden path (some of which are like short lanes).
One option may be to require anyone who has a dog on property that makes posties cross private space to get to the letterbox to install a mailbox to the boundary of the property, another plus to this would be much quicker rounds as it is very time consuming trekking up and down every garden path (some of which are like short lanes). useyourhead

11:23am Sat 24 Nov 12

prince of darkness says...

useyourhead wrote:
One option may be to require anyone who has a dog on property that makes posties cross private space to get to the letterbox to install a mailbox to the boundary of the property, another plus to this would be much quicker rounds as it is very time consuming trekking up and down every garden path (some of which are like short lanes).
Fully agree have box for post like in US other countries. Was a report of a political canvasser having fingers bitten, posting political newsletters?. So this applies to others who post through letter boxes not just Postmen.
[quote][p][bold]useyourhead[/bold] wrote: One option may be to require anyone who has a dog on property that makes posties cross private space to get to the letterbox to install a mailbox to the boundary of the property, another plus to this would be much quicker rounds as it is very time consuming trekking up and down every garden path (some of which are like short lanes).[/p][/quote]Fully agree have box for post like in US other countries. Was a report of a political canvasser having fingers bitten, posting political newsletters?. So this applies to others who post through letter boxes not just Postmen. prince of darkness

11:24am Sat 24 Nov 12

sonny says...

blylad wrote:
sonny wrote:
Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.
Royal Mail is hundreds of years old, do people actually have dogs older than that? Dog owners, regardless of their completely unfounded opinion on Postal workers, have a social responsibility to control their' pets. Also if you think Posties are overpaid, please take your 60p and stick it up your backside!
eeeerrrr yes!, dogs have been domesticated for 1000s of years maybe longer.
[quote][p][bold]blylad[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]sonny[/bold] wrote: Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.[/p][/quote]Royal Mail is hundreds of years old, do people actually have dogs older than that? Dog owners, regardless of their completely unfounded opinion on Postal workers, have a social responsibility to control their' pets. Also if you think Posties are overpaid, please take your 60p and stick it up your backside![/p][/quote]eeeerrrr yes!, dogs have been domesticated for 1000s of years maybe longer. sonny

11:27am Sat 24 Nov 12

sonny says...

blylad wrote:
sonny wrote:
Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.
Royal Mail is hundreds of years old, do people actually have dogs older than that? Dog owners, regardless of their completely unfounded opinion on Postal workers, have a social responsibility to control their' pets. Also if you think Posties are overpaid, please take your 60p and stick it up your backside!
postmen are very overpaid considering they are basically unskilled labourers, compare there wages to those of unskilled workers in factories, retail, etc.. and you will see that.
[quote][p][bold]blylad[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]sonny[/bold] wrote: Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.[/p][/quote]Royal Mail is hundreds of years old, do people actually have dogs older than that? Dog owners, regardless of their completely unfounded opinion on Postal workers, have a social responsibility to control their' pets. Also if you think Posties are overpaid, please take your 60p and stick it up your backside![/p][/quote]postmen are very overpaid considering they are basically unskilled labourers, compare there wages to those of unskilled workers in factories, retail, etc.. and you will see that. sonny

11:38am Sat 24 Nov 12

sonny says...

Most postmen(royal mail ) are just lazy whingers always looking for something to moan about and make there jobs even easier, if they had there way they would just throw the mail down at the corner of every street and leave us to it.

funny you dont get delivery men/women from independent companies whinging so much, because they are better trained and only given the jobs in the 1st place if they are suited to it.

also i imagine most of the actual official complaining is coming from the Asian postmen who are usually born hard-wired with a phobia of dogs(so shouldn't even be given the job in the 1st place)
Most postmen(royal mail ) are just lazy whingers always looking for something to moan about and make there jobs even easier, if they had there way they would just throw the mail down at the corner of every street and leave us to it. funny you dont get delivery men/women from independent companies whinging so much, because they are better trained and only given the jobs in the 1st place if they are suited to it. also i imagine most of the actual official complaining is coming from the Asian postmen who are usually born hard-wired with a phobia of dogs(so shouldn't even be given the job in the 1st place) sonny

12:28pm Sat 24 Nov 12

sonny says...

Just to add, there are still some great freindly hardworking oldschool posties out there but they are a dying bread and are just being replaced with dollopers and jobsworths.
Just to add, there are still some great freindly hardworking oldschool posties out there but they are a dying bread and are just being replaced with dollopers and jobsworths. sonny

1:56pm Sun 25 Nov 12

sonny says...

The real issue is getting seriously Dangerous dogs of the streets and punishing their owners.
The real issue is getting seriously Dangerous dogs of the streets and punishing their owners. sonny

7:40pm Sun 25 Nov 12

lwg76 says...

The dogs are off the street, they're in the Gardens
The dogs are off the street, they're in the Gardens lwg76

8:50pm Tue 27 Nov 12

epiphany says...

sonny wrote:
Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.
Emmmm....train the postman ! So theres the postie walking up to the door 16kilo bag over his shoulder bundle of mail in hand...suddenly 6 stone rottweiller appears round the corner of the building and makes a charge ....what training can help ? Having had 80 stitches in my arm from an attack I speak from bitter experience.Sadly if your view is indicative of the rest of the nation nothing will ever change.
[quote][p][bold]sonny[/bold] wrote: Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.[/p][/quote]Emmmm....train the postman ! So theres the postie walking up to the door 16kilo bag over his shoulder bundle of mail in hand...suddenly 6 stone rottweiller appears round the corner of the building and makes a charge ....what training can help ? Having had 80 stitches in my arm from an attack I speak from bitter experience.Sadly if your view is indicative of the rest of the nation nothing will ever change. epiphany

8:52pm Tue 27 Nov 12

epiphany says...

sonny wrote:
Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.
Emmmm....train the postman ! So theres the postie walking up to the door 16kilo bag over his shoulder bundle of mail in hand...suddenly 6 stone rottweiller appears round the corner of the building and makes a charge ....what training can help ? Having had 80 stitches in my arm from an attack I speak from bitter experience.Sadly if your view is indicative of the rest of the nation nothing will ever change.
[quote][p][bold]sonny[/bold] wrote: Considering that probably about 1 in 5 homes have a dog and have done so well before royal mail even existed, shouldn't it be part of the job requirement to know how to deal with pet dogs or at very least royal mail should give their whinging lazy over paid posties some training on dealing with dogs.[/p][/quote]Emmmm....train the postman ! So theres the postie walking up to the door 16kilo bag over his shoulder bundle of mail in hand...suddenly 6 stone rottweiller appears round the corner of the building and makes a charge ....what training can help ? Having had 80 stitches in my arm from an attack I speak from bitter experience.Sadly if your view is indicative of the rest of the nation nothing will ever change. epiphany

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