UK postal workers faced more than 2,000 dog attacks last year, Royal Mail reveals

Published connected 01/07/2025 - 15:12 GMT+2•Updated 15:50

Postal workers moving for Britain's Royal Mail person faced almost 2,200 canine attacks complete nan past year, marking a 2% yearly summation successful specified incidents.

This equates to astir 42 canine attacks targeting postal workers per week — pinch immoderate causing imperishable injuries and starring to disabilities, according to information released connected Monday by Britain's main postal service.

Figures shared by nan UK's Communication Workers Union besides revealed that complete a longer play — ranging from 2017 to 2024 — a 3rd of each canine attacks crossed nan UK targeted postal transportation workers.

Over nan past decade, astir 30,000 postal workers person been attacked by dogs.

'I could spot nan soma connected my limb hanging'

Ellenore King-Voisin has worked arsenic a postwoman successful Farnborough — a metropolis successful southeast England — for nan past 3 years. But successful June past year, what was meant to beryllium a normal time astatine activity turned retired to beryllium a traumatic experience.

"I was delivering message to a spot connected my information that I had been to galore times before," she told Royal Mail.

"The customers location were very proud of nan 2 rescue dogs they had. I had seen nan dogs earlier truthful was alert that 1 of them had an fierce temperament."

On nan time of nan attack, nan dogs' owner, who was moving connected his car parked astatine nan beforehand of nan property, had near nan beforehand doorway open. However, erstwhile King-Voisin walked up nan thrust to present nan man's post, things took a move for nan worse.

"I noticed nan calmer of nan 2 dogs astatine nan door. She looked astatine maine and I froze. The canine past went backmost wrong and past some dogs returned to nan doorway and astatine that constituent I realised I conscionable didn't guidelines a chance", said King-Voisin.

"The canine jumped up astatine maine and spot maine 3 times conscionable supra nan correct knee. When I looked down, I could spot nan soma connected my limb hanging and nan fat insubstantial that had virtually burst unfastened looked for illustration small yellowish marbles connected nan floor. I'd ne'er seen thing for illustration it before", added King-Voisin.

Eventually, King-Voisin managed to prevention herself.

"I knew that nan canine would not extremity attacking maine if I didn’t do something, truthful I started screaming, and past nan proprietor and his girl came rushing out," she recalled. "I besides startled nan canine arsenic she ran backmost into nan house. I had to do my ain First Aid arsenic nan man and his girl were crying."

Do not fto nan dogs out

Despite nan wide emergence successful attacks complete nan past year, a 10% decrease in attacks resulting successful superior and important wounded to postal workers was recorded, pinch 74 important incidents logged, compared to 82 successful 2023-24.

But successful a akin inclination to erstwhile years, astir half of each canine attacks (46%) targeting postal workers took spot astatine nan beforehand door, while much than a 4th (28%) took spot successful nan garden, thrust aliases yard.

Nearly a 5th of attacks (18%) happened done letterboxes and a full of 8% of attacks occurred successful nan thoroughfare aliases road.

In a bid to protect its workforce, nan UK's Post Office recommends nan nationalist people disconnected and show connected their spot a postcard that warns postal workers that they ain a dog.

It besides asks them to hold while owners unafraid their canine earlier opening nan door.

In 2020, a High Court ruling declared that stated canine owners (or those successful attraction of a dog) could beryllium prosecuted if their pets person free entree to nan letterbox and origin wounded to immoderate postal aliases transportation worker — whether nan proprietor is astatine location aliases not.