Postman bitten by Fishburn dog wins right to keep compo

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Postman bitten by Fishburn dog wins right to keep compensation

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A POSTMAN who successfully sued a homeowner whose dog bit him during his rounds in a small County Durham village has fought off an Appeal Court bid to strip him of his payout.

Royal Mail postman, Robert Townsend, was mauled by 'Rocky' the dog as he made deliveries in Fishburn, before rowing with the dog's owner, Paul Race.

The postie was awarded four-figure damages at Middlesbrough County Court in January after District Judge Hall upheld the claim he brought against Mr Race under the Animal Act 1971.


One of the country's most senior judges at London's Civil Appeal Court yesterday (Tuesday) rejected a bid by Mr Race to overturn the judgment, ruling that his challenge had "no prospect" of success.

In a story that encapsulates the classic scourge of the postal round, Mr Townsend was delivering to homes on Coronation Avenue when Rocky struck, biting the Royal Mail worker as he walked away from Mr Race's house.

The pet owner returned shortly after his dog had clamped his jaws into Mr Townsend and rowed with the postman over who was to blame, showing him a "V" sign, Lord Justice Underhill said.

Mr Race said he saw the attack and claimed Rocky acted after Mr Townsend hit him first with a postbag, an allegation that the postie denied.

Mr Townsend took the unusual step of launching a legal action the pet-owner at the County Court, claiming his failure to control the dog put him in breach of the Act, which imposes strict liability on pet owners whose animals cause injury.

During the course of the trial, two more postmen gave evidence that Rocky had been aggressive towards them.

A neighbour of Mr Race said the pet-owner had not arrived at the scene until after the attack, the appeal judge added.

Judge Hall believed Mr Townsend's account and ordered Mr Race to pay him £1,500 damages.

Applying to appeal the decision, Charles Knowles, for Mr Race, argued that Judge Hall erred in refusing to order Royal Mail to hand over the original "Dog Attack Form" it used to record the incident.

An unsigned, typed copy of the form, completed by Mr Townsend's manager shortly after the attack, seemed to indicate that the pet-owner was in fact present when Rocky attacked, the barrister argued.

He added: "When facing such a compelling issue, going to the very heart of Mr Townsend's credibility, in a case that was to stand or fall on the issue of credibility, then the failure to order the production of the document was fatal."

Lord Justice Underhill said: "I can understand why Mr Race feels a sense of grievance that the full materials were not before the court, but I am afraid to say I see no prospect of an appeal on that basis succeeding."

Dismissing the application, Lord Justice Underhill said that, even if it was proved Mr Townsend ticked the box on the form to indicate Mr Race was present, this would not have wholly undermined his case.