Royal Mail workers report almost 2,000 dog attacks in a year – as Tunbridge Wells tops worst postcode list
Royal Mail has reported a surge in dog attacks on postal workers – with Tunbridge Wells in Kent named as the worst offending postcode.
A total of 1,916 dog attacks have been reported in the year up to 31 March 2023 – averaging 37 a week and increasing 14% on the 1,673 incidents in the previous year.
Some postal workers suffered serious injuries after being savaged by people’s pets, with one woman left needing multiple operations including plastic surgery when a dog jumped up from behind and clamped on her elbow.
For the first time, the TN (Tunbridge Wells) postcode has been named the worst offender for dog attacks – after being in the list of worst postcode areas for nine consecutive years.
Some 65 postal workers were confronted by people’s pets in the Kent postcode – up from 44 last year, representing an increase of 48%.
The BT (Belfast) postcode followed in second with 56 attacks, up from 50 last year, having previously topped the list four times since 2013.
Sheffield saw a 2% drop compared with last year but still placed third with 50 workers targeted by dogs.
The figures were released on Monday, the first day of the annual Dog Awareness Week, which aims to encourage responsible dog ownership.
Royal Mail said it wanted people to understand the “often devastating impact of dog attacks” on postal workers and take proper measures to ensure pets do not pose a threat.
More than 900 dog attacks happened at the front door – accounting for 47% of incidents.
A further 515 (27%) occurred in the garden, drive or yard while 11% took place in the street.
Some 381 injuries were caused through the letterbox, the equivalent of around 20%.
Dog attacks caused workers to take more than 3,000 days of absence in the past year, Royal Mail said, with one individual needing 139 days off.
In a statement, it said: “Royal Mail knows that dogs are not inherently dangerous, but, even the most placid animal can be prone to attack if it feels either it or its territory is being threatened.”
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‘I couldn’t face going back on that round’
Postwoman Kimberley Link, 50, had been working in Eltham, southeast London, for around two years when she was savaged by a “big” dog on her rounds in July 2022.
She needed multiple operations including plastic surgery and skin grafts after the animal “suddenly appeared” before sinking its teeth into her arm.
One of the dog’s teeth lodged in her elbow and had to be removed during surgery.
She was in hospital for a week and needed six months off work to recover after the ordeal – which caused bad scarring to her elbow and permanent nerve damage to her hand, meaning she can no longer grip properly.
Recalling the attack, Ms Link said: “I realised [the dog] was loose and turned to get away, but he jumped up at me from behind and clamped on to my left elbow.
“I can remember the dog pulling me to the floor then letting go of my elbow and then trying to bite into the back of my neck.”
A neighbour rushed to the aid of Ms Link after hearing her scream in pain, pulling the dog off her before calling an ambulance.
Dog attacks caused workers to take more than 3,000 days of absence in the past year
“I’ve now got bad scarring on my elbow and a large patch where I have no feeling or sensation due to the skin graft,” Ms Link added.
“When I returned there was a management position available so I decided to take it – I couldn’t have faced going back on that round.”
Now she is urging dog owners to be always be cautious when a stranger comes to their home.
“Dogs are defensive of their home, so, if possible, put them in another room before opening the door to the postie because most dogs will try and push their way past their owner to the door.”
A court ordered the dog should be destroyed after the owner was prosecuted over the attack.
They were also handed a 12-month community order of 100 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £1,200 compensation to Ms Link.
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Where are the 10 worst postcodes – and how many attacks happened in the past year?
1. TN (Tunbridge Wells) – 65
2. BT (Belfast) – 56
3. S (Sheffield) – 50
4. PO (Portsmouth) – 49
5. BS (Bristol) – 42
6. SA (Swansea) – 41
7. EX (Exeter) – 38
8. NG (Nottingham) – 37
Joint 9th: BN (Brighton) and OX (Oxford) – both 34
Royal Mail’s health and safety director, Lizz Lloyd, said: “We are concerned to see attacks on our staff have increased this year.
“We know the number of attacks rises during the school holidays and in the summer months when parents and children are at home and dogs are sometimes allowed unsupervised in the garden or out on to the streets without restraints.
“So, while we want our customers to enjoy being outside with their pets, we also want to ask them to consider the danger unsupervised dogs pose to our colleagues.”
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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