Tunbridge Wells is revealed as the UK’s dog bite capital for posties

Posties suffered nearly 2,000 dog attacks last year – equivalent to more than five each day, said the Royal Mail.

The most dangerous area for canine aggression was Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

The data reveals the daily toll in the year to March was 15 per cent up on the year before and led to 3,014 days off work.

Bosses put the rising number down to a surge in dog ownership from 9.6million in 2021 to 11million in 2023.

Out of the 1,916 attacks, 65 were in the TN postcode centred on Tunbridge Wells which has been in the top ten list for canine assaults for nine years running. Royal Mail warns on its website: ‘Even the most lovable dog can be a danger to postal staff.’

Health and safety director Lizz Lloyd, added: ‘The number of attacks rises during the school holidays and in the summer when parents and children are at home and dogs are sometimes allowed unsupervised in the garden or out onto the streets.’

Postwoman Kimberley Link, 50, suffered severe injuries when she was attacked by a dog loose in a garden last summer. ‘I can remember the dog pulling me to the floor then letting go of my elbow and trying to bite into the back of my neck,’ she said.

A neighbour heard her scream and called an ambulance. Ms Link said: ‘I was taken straight in for an X-ray and they found the dog’s tooth was still in my elbow.’

She has suffered bad scarring and permanent nerve damage in her hand, meaning she cannot grip properly. The owner was given a community order for 100 hours of unpaid work and the dog was put down.

The most common place for attacks is at the front door (47 per cent) then the garden or drive (27 per cent) and through the letterbox (20 per cent). Posties also faced attacks from 25 cats and two birds.