A DOG owner cried in the dock as Haverfordwest Magistrates Court heard how her two Boxers, Benny and Billy, had attacked a young boy.

Hayley Ward, 37, of Oaklands, Milford Haven, pleaded guilty to being in charge of the 18-month-old dogs when they were “dangerously out of control”, causing injury.

Magistrates ordered her to pay the 11-year-old victim, who cannot be named due to a court imposed order, £500 compensation.

They also imposed a “contingent destruction order” on the dogs, dictating that they must always be muzzled and on a lead when in a public place, or they will be put down.

Prosecutor Ellie Morgan said the Boxers set upon the boy after they escaped Ward’s garden.

“The defendant’s son had come home from school, and when he opened the gate the dogs sped past him,” Ms Morgan explained.

“One of the dogs put its jaws around the victim’s right upper arm. He felt the teeth go in to his skin. The dog then bit his left hand. He tried to run away, and one of the dogs jumped on his back and pulled on his backpack.

"He dropped the bag and tried to run, but a dog bit his right ankle and he fell.”

Ms Morgan said both dogs then “bit the boy’s lower legs”, causing “puncture wounds”. No stitches were required.

“He managed to get up, run in to the defendant’s garden and push the gate closed behind him, keeping the dogs outside,” she added. “Police and an ambulance arrived shortly after.”

In a police interview, Ward said she normally kept the dogs inside when children were walking home from school because they “jump up and could easily knock someone down”.

She also said she normally kept the gate padlocked but that on the day in question it had “slipped her mind” and the gate had been left unlocked.

“Ward told police her ex-husband was now looking after Billy, and Benny was going to be taken to the Battersea Dogs Home to give him a chance to find new owners,” Ms Morgan said.

In a victim statement, the boy said the attack had left him so scared of dogs his family had given their own dog away.

“I’ve got scars and I’ve lost feeling in the toes on my right foot,” he said.

“I’m too afraid to go out and play on my scooter. I’m always looking over my shoulder.”

Alistair Veck, defending, said his client had a “slightly different version of events”.

“I’m instructed the boy was agitating the dogs, who were jumping up. My client’s son asked him to stop it, but the victim continued to wind the dogs up,” Mr Veck said.

“Those dogs had never attacked anyone before.”

Mr Veck handed the Magistrates pictures of the Boxers with the Ward family.

“One of them sleeps with the defendant’s daughter, with no fear,” he said. “You can even see one dog being dressed up by the girl. She likes to play at being a farrier, and the dogs patiently sit there while she pretends to put shoes on them.”

Mr Veck said Ward had felt so much remorse over the attack she had arranged to get the Boxers put down, but “couldn’t go through with it”.