Pensioner receives cracked ribs after being knocked down by 'out of control' dog

Anna Fairs, 71, was with her husband on the green at the bottom of Pigeonhouse Lane in Rustington on Saturday, August 27 when she was bowled over by a labrador.

“It’s all sort of fuzzy”, said Mrs Fairs. “I’m now in quite a lot of pain.”

“What’s bothering me is one day it is going to be something a bit more serious.”

Mrs Fairs had been injured in a similar incident three years ago, fracturing her coccyx.

Describing the incident, she said the owner of the labrador had been very apologetic and brought her flowers, but the owners of the other two dogs involved in the incident disappeared swiftly.

When she called the police on Monday she was told to contact the Arun District Council dog warden, who is now looking into the incident.

“Those dogs are out of control”, said Mrs Fairs.

Mrs Fairs wants dogs to be kept on leads all the way along the seafront.

Julia Jane, dog warden for Arun District Council, went to view the site on Friday.

“Without knowing the owners of the dogs there is not a lot we can do”, she said.

However she confirmed the council are exploring options to try to prevent what happened to Mrs Fairs happening again.

“There may be a possibility of having a notice to keep dog on leads until they are actually on the green”, she said.

Ms Jane added that while implementing a mandatory notice might be difficult, the council is at the beginning of the process and is exploring various options.

Adur and Worthing councils recently announced tougher orders to control dogs, with existing dog control orders transferred to Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs).

PSPOs allow councils to criminalise particular, non-criminal, activities taking place within a specified area.

Councillor Emma Evans, Adur’s executive member for environment, said: “Adur and Worthing councils both believe the proposed orders address the anti-social behaviours of some dog owners which have a detrimental effect on the quality of life for our residents.”

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