PUPIL Eric Walker was bitten in the stomach by a Rottweiler-German Shepherd cross after it escaped from its owner's garden into school grounds, magistrates heared.

Eric, 11, of St Birinus School, Didcot suffered a three-inch-long bruise and cuts after he had been playing tennis at school, said prosecutor Mrs Shelley Cranshaw.

The animal belonged to Ms Lorna Sinclair, of Glebe Road, Didcot, and had escaped from her garden nearby, said Mrs Cranshaw. Sinclair later told police that the garden gate was normally bolted but a neighbour had let the animal out.

At Didcot Court, (on March 12) Sinclair admitted that on November 17 last year she was the owner of a dangerous dog that was not kept under proper control.

Magistrates ordered her to take steps to ensure the garden was securely fenced and the garden gate padlocked. The order also said that the dog should not be allowed out unaccompanied or without a lead.

Sinclair, who apologised for the attack, said the dog was nearly 12 years old and she had had her since she was a puppy.

"I am really embarrassed," she said. "I have made every provision to make sure it does not happen again."

Sinclair, who has two dogs, explained she had now padlocked the gate and the animals were kept on leads whenever they were taken out.

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