"The need for proper dog control on Wirral is obvious"

In 2019, my family, including two young grandchildren, was attacked by two dogs off leads on the beach at West Kirby. We were lucky, the dogs "only" urinated on our belongings.

My brother and his family had suffered a similar experience the year before on the same beach.

The picnic they had set up was urinated on by a single dog, again off its lead.

I reported my family’s experience to the police to seek advice if we were to experience a similar incident.

They told me that dogs off leads are out of the control of their owners and can be unpredictable. Also, they said that incidents of this nature warrant a 999 call and should be dealt with by the police.

In 2020, my same two grandchildren were set upon by two dogs off leads on Heswall Dales. They were sitting on a bench eating their snacks when both dogs appeared with no owner in sight. The dogs went for the food that the children were eating.

As a direct result of these attacks, my grandchildren are now absolutely petrified of dogs.

Proposals for the introduction of dog control measures have been regularly blocked or simply "voted" against.

A council member said that in 2017 there were 174 dog attacks recorded on the Wirral and stated “the situation was going to get worse”.

Unfortunately, a recent incident on the Wirral has proved this to be the case.

The horrific dog attack on the two men in Birkenhead Park last month was predictable and could have been prevented.

The dogs involved, as with our own experiences, were off leads and out of control. The men involved in this were taken to hospital with their injuries. One of them will be scarred for life.

How lucky was my family in comparison!

The need for proper dog control on Wirral is obvious.

Finally, I would like to make it perfectly clear that I have nothing against dogs... I used to own one!

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