Royal Mail bosses win High Court appeal after Ipswich postie bitten by dog
He was bitten on the finger while making a delivery in 2017.
Last updated 29th Jul 2021
Royal Mail bosses have won a High Court appeal after the owner of a dog which bit a postman’s finger as he pushed mail through a letterbox was cleared of committing a crime.
Two senior judges based in London have ruled that a district judge in Ipswich, Suffolk, was wrong to acquit Richard Watson after his “boxer-type” dog bit postman Gavin Murrell.
They heard how the dog bit Mr Murrell’s finger in May 2017 as he pushed mail through the letterbox of Mr Mr Watson’s home in Sycamore Drive, Ipswich.
Royal Mail Group Ltd prosecuted and accused Mr Watson of being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control.
District Judge Julie Cooper acquitted Mr Watson after a hearing at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court in February 2020.
Lady Justice Carr and Mr Justice Saini, who considered Royal Mail’s appeal at a High Court hearing earlier this month, have concluded that she was wrong.
The two judges said, in a ruling published online, that they had to consider whether Mr Murrell acted as a trespasser because he put his fingers through the letterbox rather than using a “postal stick”, and, whether Mr Watson had a defence to the offence he was accused of because Mr Murrell “failed to use due diligence”.
They concluded that Mr Murrell had not been a trespasser and that Mr Watson did not have a defence.
“Parliament has chosen to put the burden on those who own (or are in charge of) a dog to ensure that effective steps are taken to ensure that the dog does not cause injury to anyone,” said Lady Justice Carr.
“A postal worker in the position of Mr Murrell is not a trespasser as a result of putting their fingers through a letterbox.”
She said the ruling did not mean that homeowners could not leave dogs unattended and added: “Simple measures, such as the installation of a wire guard or adjustment to the height of the letterbox itself, can be taken.”
Mr Justice Saini agreed.