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Dog bites are putting hundreds of people across Birmingham in hospital.

Those are the findings of NHS data obtained by BirminghamLive.

The figures reveal there were 345 occasions in 2018/19 across Birmingham where a person was bitten or struck so badly by a dog that they actually had to be admitted to hospital.

While the number of admissions was the same as the year before, it was up from the 300 admissions recorded in 2014/15 (the first year of comparable records).

The worsening situation in Birmingham reflects a national trend.

Across England there were at least 8,410 hospital admissions due to dog bites in 2018/19.

That was up from 7,940 the year before and marks the highest number recorded since at least 2014/15.

The figure is likely to be even higher, because the NHS has suppressed admissions among trusts where fewer than seven admissions took place in order to protect patient anonymity.

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NHS guidelines advise that people should always seek medical advice if bitten by an animal where the bite has broken the skin.

People with particularly severe bites should visit their A&E department.

The NHS also advises that young children should never be left unsupervised with a dog - regardless of its breed and previous behaviour.

The figures do not provide more detailed information on the nature of the incidents.

They can’t reveal, for example, whether the dog bites were unprovoked attacks or whether the victim was the dog’s owner.

The news comes following the death of a woman in Cheshire last month who was mauled to death by her two pet American Bulldogs.

Richard Woodward, Public Affairs Assistant at Blue Cross, said: “Fundamentally, the evidence shows that the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (DDA) is ineffective at dealing with dangerous dogs, or protecting the public from dog attacks.

“It is clear that a dog’s behaviour, and therefore its aggression levels, are impacted by a range of factors, such as the way it was bred, and the experiences it has had throughout its lifetime, as well as the way it has been trained or not trained by its owner.

“Any dog of any breed can be aggressive towards people if it has not been socialised properly, or has undergone traumatic or stressful events early in its life.

“There are many reasons why a dog may bite a human or another animal: they may be protecting themselves or their property; they may be in pain; feel trapped; they may have been surprised by somebody’s actions; or they may simply be very excited.

“Of the people who get bitten, 70 per cent of dog bites happen in the home and 80 per cent are bitten by dogs that they regularly meet.

“With children, this is probably because they are overfamiliar with the dog and don’t stick to the house rules on how to behave around dogs.

“Sadly, irresponsible dog ownership can often lead to dog attacks.

“It is essential that incidences of dog bites and dog attacks are properly recorded so we can have access to robust and up-to-date data on the scale of the problem.”