No mail for a year on street where postman was bitten by dog

People living on a Liverpool street have faced an “horrendous” year of postal troubles after a savage dog attack saw Royal Mail cancel all deliveries.

The postal service suspended rounds on Ash Vale in Wavertree after postman Steven McKay was bitten by tw o dogs while delivering letters on September 10, 2022. Mr McKay had been warned by his work about an “aggressive” Jack Russell living on the street, and as he approached the property the small dog ran out and attacked him. He kicked it and tried to hold up his mail bag as a barrier – but as he did so, a second dog, a Belgian shepherd called Mally, jumped over the fence and chased him down the road.

The postman tried to escape by jumping onto a car bonnet, but was bitten on the left buttock by Mally, who dragged him to the ground and continued to try to bite him on the back, arms and legs.

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Following a court hearing last week, Mally’s owner Joseph Blaney, of Woodhead Road in New Ferry, was ordered to keep his dog muzzled and on a double control lead attached to a body harness at all times in public.

But Royal Mail said deliveries remain on hold at all 29 Ash Vale addresses, as the company has received “no assurances” that the Jack Russell will also be secured. This means residents must collect their post from the Liverpool South East delivery office on Wellington Road 10 minutes away.

One 74-year-old neighbour said: “It’s been terrible. For 12 months, it’s been horrendous. I got told (the court case) was going to be in January next year and I went down to the delivery office and said this is ridiculous, we cant go 18 months without mail.

“My grandson is the one who has been going for it and picking up next door’s as well. Then a few months ago they changed the opening hours, so it’s only open 8am until 10am. Saturday is open until 12pm, but people go shopping and do things on a Saturday, so it’s inconvenient for people.

“My grandson has to walk up there and walk back, if he couldn’t do it it would probably have to be me. It’s quite a distance to walk. I’m 75 next week, I’m not a young person, it’s hard for us to be able to go and pick up mail every day. I just want to know what they’re going to do about it. I thought it would have started up this week to be honest.

“I know the man got bit and I’m really sorry for what happened, but I don’t think that we should have had to suffer for that.”

She said several people on the street received important correspondence from the NHS, including Alder Hey patients and a 70-year-old man who had been suffering from cancer. Another resident, a mum of two, said she was awaiting important letters from social services.

Michael Dever, who also lives on the street, said: “No one has been in touch at all for the whole year. I ask every time I go to the delivery office if there’s any update and of course there isn’t. You have to pick your parcels up, your letters, anything you’re expecting you have to make sure you go every day and make sure it’s there. It takes 10, 15 minutes for me, but for someone who is elderly or disabled, someone has to either pick it up for them, or they have to get their mail re-directed to someone else.

“We’re pretty annoyed really because we know the culprit, we know the sentence, we have seen the dog now muzzled and on a lead, so if that was the problem that stopped the post in the first place, that problem has been solved, because there’s an interim destruction order. If there’s any problems with that dog, if it’s out of control, it will be taken away and dealt with. So therefore the post should come back.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are pleased to hear that the court case has concluded; that the owner accepted responsibly, and a control order has been issued.

“Royal Mail will now make arrangements to risk assess the area. We will be undertaking this as soon as possible, in conjunction with the local authorities.

“Currently deliveries remain suspended to all 29 addresses and alternative arrangements for all those affected to access their mail are still in place . We have still received no assurances from the owner of the other dog at the property that their dog will be secure.”

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