Region a hotspot for dog bite incidents

There were 925 hospital admissions for bites in the region in the year to May, accounting for one in seven of the total.

The highest rate of dog attacks took place in Hull and Wakefield.

The north west accounted for one in six of all admissions for dog bites or attacks amounting to 1,099 admissions.

The data, from the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows there were 6,334 hospital admissions overall for dog bites or attacks in England, a fall of nearly two per cent on the previous year.

Hospital admissions following dog attacks were highest in the north east (21.6 per 100,000 people) and Yorkshire (17.5), and lowest in London (7.4) and the south east coast (5.1).

Sixteen people have been killed by dangerous dogs since 2005. Ministers have announced proposals for life sentences for the owners of dogs which kill.

In March, 14-year-old Jade Anderson died after being attacked by four dogs. She was mauled by two Staffordshire bull terriers and two bull mastiffs while at a friend’s house in Wigan.

Last month, a two-year-old girl suffered serious injuries to her head and leg after being bitten by a Rottweiler in Rawmarsh, Rotherham.

A 13-year-old boy was left with severe facial injuries, also last month, after being attacked by a dog in Little Horton, Bradford. The animal was shot dead by police.

The figures show dog bites or strikes were most common in young children, with one in six of all hospital admissions for children aged nine or under.

Other data for bites, attacks and stings from other animals showed a massive reduction in admissions for stings from hornets, wasps or bees compared to 12 months previously. There were 552 admissions compared to 1,324 the year before, possibly linked to the poor summer weather last year when there were fewer of the insects around.