Dog owner jailed after toddler attacked in Kirriemuir Published duration 22 September 2015

A man whose dog savaged a toddler in Kirriemuir has been jailed for a year.

John Towns, 45, was the owner of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier which attacked the two-year-old girl at his home on 27 February.

The girl lost teeth and was left with "large, gaping wounds" on her cheeks, and may yet require plastic surgery.

Towns, who has a "significant" criminal record, admitted being the owner of a dangerously out of control dog and was jailed for a year.

Forfar Sheriff Court heard that the girl and her mother were visiting Towns and his partner at their home in Kirriemuir when the girl went to stroke the dog.

Prosecutors said the six-year-old dog "knocked the child over" and bit her on the face. The girl's mother struggled with the animal and eventually managed to prise its jaws open.

The dog was removed from the house by police and has been held in kennels since.

Towns had a plea of not guilty to a charge of supplying diazepam from his home on the same date accepted by the Crown, while his partner Elaine Towns, 39, had a not guilty plea to the dog attack charge accepted.

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