Training

Stay safe from dogs

by Mark Rowe

Around 150 postal workers in Sutton, Wallington and Morden in south London were given tips about how they can stay safe from dogs – from the Metropolitan Police officer who has been the driving force behind the launch of Sutton Borough’s LEAD dog initiative.

Postal staff at Wallington sorting office were the latest to receive advice about dogs during a training session on Tuesday, August 4, by PC Heath Keogh, of Sutton’s Anti-Social Behaviour Unit.

PC Keogh was speaking in support of the Royal Mail training, which encourages postal staff to use their red posting peg – a large paperclip which is used to post mail at homes where dogs are known to snatch the post as it comes through the letterbox. He said: “If dogs use their teeth to grab the post, then they are only going to bite into the clip rather than your fingers.” He urged postal staff to post mail in a way that avoids putting their fingers in the letterbox.

At homes where dogs are known, postal staff should shout to occupiers to secure their dogs if they have to knock at the front door to deliver the post. Police in Sutton have received two reports in the last month of postal staff being bitten by dogs which have run out of the property after postal staff have called at the address and the front door has been opened.

PC Keogh added that if there is a dog in the front garden preventing postal staff from getting to the front door, they should shout out to the owner, and if nobody comes out, then the postal staff should not put themselves at risk and not deliver the post. Several hundred LEAD leaflets have been given to postal staff so they can be posted at homes where they believe the dog may be an issue or is likely to come to notice in the future.

PC Keogh is due to continue his series of talks to postal staff in Banstead and Mitcham in September. Keogh told postal staff that the initiative – Local Environmental Awareness on Dogs – was set up by the Met Police in Sutton after a woman was killed by a dog in Wallington, two days before Christmas in 2010. The aim: to encourage responsible ownership of all breeds of dog whilst tackling inconsiderate and anti-social behaviour of pet owners.

The borough’s LEAD initiative has been copied by other London boroughs besides police forces and local councils around the country. It features in the DEFRA best practice manual and has been endorsed and supported by animal organisations including the RSPCA and Battersea Dogs Home.

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