THE number of attacks by dogs on Royal Mail workers in Belfast has increased by 12 percent since last year, it has been revealed.
Belfast's BT postcode area has seen the second-highest number of dog attacks on postal staff anywhere in the UK for the second year in a row.
New data from Royal Mail found that staff were attacked by dogs 56 times in Belfast in the 12 months before March 31 of this year - six times more than the previous year.
Belfast finished second in the top 10 UK postcode areas in which postmen and postwomen have faced dog attacks, behind affluent Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, where 65 incidents were recorded.
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Fifty attacks were recorded in Sheffield - the area which topped last year's list - while Portsmouth saw 49 incidents.
In total, Royal Mail recorded 1,916 dog attacks on staff across the UK - 243 more than the previous year - leading to "permanent and disabling injuries" in some instances.
The majority of attacks - 47 percent - happened at front doors during deliveries.
The new figures have been released as part of Royal Mail's Dog Awareness Week campaign to encourage responsible dog ownership and improve safety for postal staff delivering letters and parcels.
Dog attacks resulted in more than 3,014 days of absence in 2022/23 by Royal Mail staff, with the longest period of absence being 139 days.
Royal Mail's health and safety director Lizz Lloyd said: “We are concerned to see attacks on our staff have increased this year.
“We know the number of attacks rises during the school holidays and in the summer months when parents and children are at home and dogs are sometimes allowed unsupervised in the garden or out onto the streets without restraints.
"So, while we want our customers to enjoy being outside with their pets, we also want to ask them to consider the danger unsupervised dogs pose to our colleagues.”
Dave Joyce of the Communication Workers’ Union, said: “The key objective of Dog Awareness Week is primarily to remind the public to be aware of their legal and moral responsibilities to control their dogs and prevent dog attacks on postal workers who are providing them with a great public service.
“The public need to be aware that if their dog attacks a postal worker, they can be prosecuted either by the police, local authority or by Royal Mail via a private prosecution.”
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