Dog attacks on postal staff 'too high,' says Royal Mail

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Dogs attacks on postal staff in Wales have dropped over the past year but still remain "unacceptably high," says the Royal Mail.

A total of 142 postmen and women were attacked in the 12 months to April 2013, down from more than 200 in 2012.

The CF postcode of Cardiff and the south Wales valleys had 31 incidents while the postcodes areas for mid and north east Wales each saw 25 attacks.

Royal Mail and postal unions have urged dog owners to control their pets.

DOG ATTACKS ON POSTMEN AND WOMEN IN WALES

CF postcode (Cardiff area) 31 attacks

SA postcode (Swansea and south west Wales) 21 attacks

SY postcode (Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury) 25 attacks

NP postcode (Newport and Gwent Valleys) 14 attacks

LL postcode (north Wales) 24 attacks

Llandrindod and LD postcode two attacks

CH postcode (Mold and Deeside) 25 attacks

SOURCE: Royal Mail (figures per postcode area in 12 months to April 2013)

Both the Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) warned that postal staff face a higher risk of attack during the summer months as families at home have dogs unsupervised in the garden or the street.

Royal Mail Group safety director Shaun Davis said: "Clearly most dogs are not inherently dangerous, however, even the most placid animal can be prone to attack if it feels its territory is being threatened.

"Our first priority as an employer is to ensure the welfare and safety of our people who provide a valuable service."

The organisation has teamed up with animal charities to highlight the issue across the UK during Dog Awareness Week.

The Dogs Trust is installing letterboxes at its Bridgend centre to train dogs to "learn to love the postman's arrival".

Beverley Price, manager of Dogs Trust Bridgend, said: "We have always ensured that our dogs are as acclimatised as they can be to real life situations that they will come across when they leave our kennels.

"Introducing letterboxes to all of the re-homing centres with training facilities is an obvious next step in providing a 'first class' service."

Royal Mail safety director Senol Ali said: "Last year across the country the number of dog attacks on our people fell.

"However there were still over 140 incidents in Wales and we need to reduce this number further as even one dog attack on our people is one dog attack too many."