A woman whose dog attacked a nine-year-old girl in a Black Country street has been ordered to pay £615.

Sharon Lesley Dutton, aged 48, of Bowness Grove, Willenhall, gasped with relief as magistrates told her they would not make her have her nine-month-old Japanese Akita destroyed.

She had claimed the animal escaped from her garden because builders failed to close the door properly. But Walsall Magistrates heard the girl had to be taken to Wolverhampton’s

New Cross Hospital for treatment to bites on her left arm and back following the attack.

Jason Corden-Bowen, prosecuting, said: “The dog began barking at the girl and then began chasing her.

“It then jumped up on her and knocked her to the ground. When her mother arrived, she told her ‘it bit me, it bit me’.” He said she was given antibiotics at hospital for the bites.

Dutton, a hairdresser, pleaded guilty to allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place.

Ranjit Sandhu, defending, said: “Thankfully the child concerned did not have to spend a substantial amount of time in hospital. Mrs Dutton sympathises with the injured party and her parents. However, there was never any intent to cause harm.

“She believes that if the child had not been screaming, the dog may not have attacked.”

“Builders were in the garden at the time and she believed that when they left, they had shut the gate. Once she realised the dog had left the garden, she left the house with the intention of finding it and bringing it back home.

“It was out of control for a very short space of time. She went to see the injured party’s parents after the attack because she was so concerned about her welfare. She accepts that she should have checked the gate was closed.”

Chairman of the bench Mr Mohammed Abrar ordered Dutton to pay a £265 fine, £250 compensation, £85 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge. He also said the dog must be muzzled and on a lead when in public from now on. It has been a very difficult case to look at, when we know emotions are involved,” he said.

“We will not make an order that it be destroyed because we believe it is still young and has no history of aggressive behaviour.”