Royal Mail today announces there were 2,206 dog attacks reported on its colleagues last year, an increase of 15% for the past 12 months to 31 March 2024. The figure equates to an average of 42 attacks every week across the UK, with some leading to permanent and disabling injuries.

The figures have been released at the start of the 12th annual Dog Awareness Week, which will run from 1-7 July and encourages responsible dog ownership. Royal Mail is appealing to dog owners to ensure they understand the often-devastating impact of dog attacks on postmen and postwomen and take proper measures to ensure their pets pose no threat to delivery postal workers through responsible dog ownership. *See below for tips and advice for dog owners. 

The research also found a concerning rise in attacks causing serious and significant injury to postal workers. Figures also revealed a 148% increase in these types of attacks - 82 compared to 33 the previous year.

Highest-risk locations were the PO (Portsmouth) and BT (Belfast) postcode areas where 62 postmen or women suffered dog attacks in both locations, followed jointly by the BS (Bristol) and BN (Brighton) postcode areas with 48 attacks. The third most dangerous place for attacks, with 44 reports, is the PL (Plymouth) postcode area. 

As in previous years, the majority of dog attacks, 1,078 (49%), took place at the front door. A further 585 (26%) of dog attacks took place in the garden, drive or yard. There were 154 (7%) attacks in the street or road.

There were 389 injuries suffered through the letterbox - accounting for 18% of attacks on postal workers. Letterbox attacks were the subject of a 2020 High Court ruling that stated dog owners (or those in care of a dog) can be prosecuted if their pets have free access to the letterbox and cause injury to any delivery operative, whether the owner is at home or not.

Dog attacks on Royal Mail colleagues resulted in more than 2,273 days of absence in 2023/24 with the longest period of absence being 197 days. 

There are approximately 13.5 million pet dogs in the UK, according to UK Pet Food’s Pet Data Report 2024.

1st
Two postcode locations were the highest risk spots for dog attacks during the reporting period of 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 with 62 dog attacks reported in both. The PO (Portsmouth) and BT (Belfast) postcode areas had the most incidents reported during the year.

For the PO (Portsmouth) postcode area, this represents a 27% increase from the previous year, that saw 49 dog attacks. The PO postcode area has featured in the top, most high-risk areas for dog attacks for seven consecutive years and eight in total since Royal Mail began publishing attack figures. This is the sixth consecutive year that the PO postcode has placed in the top, most dangerous locations for dog attacks on postal staff. It has appeared in the top  most high-risk locations seven times since Royal Mail began reporting postcode specific figures in 2013. This is the first time the postcode area has had the most attacks reported on Royal Mail postal workers.

The BT (Belfast) postcode area saw an 11% increase on the 56 dog attacks on Royal Mail staff last year. Last year the postcode area was the 2nd high-risk place for attacks. The BT postcode area has appeared in every high-risk list since Royal Mail began releasing figures on yearly attacks in 2013. It has been the most dangerous location for attacks five times.

3rd  
The BS (Bristol) and BN (Brighton) postcode areas are the third highest-risk locations with 48 dog attacks reported in each location. 

The is the second consecutive year the BS (Bristol) postcode area has appeared in the most dangerous list having been in fifth position in 22/23. This year saw a 14% increase on the 42 attacks in 22/23. This is the fourth time the BS postcode has featured in the most dangerous list – 2017, 2021 and 2023 being the previous three occasions. 

For the BN (Brighton) postcode, the 48 attacks see a 41% increase on 22/23. This is the eighth consecutive year that the BN postcode has appeared in the high-risk list for dog attacks on postal staff. The postcode area was the most dangerous location for attacks in 2021. 

5th 
The PL (Plymouth) postcode area had 44 attacks reported. There has been a significant 69% increase on attacks from last year when there were 26 attacks on Royal Mail staff.  The PL postcode area has not featured in the top most dangerous locations since 2017/18 and has appeared in the list four times in total – 2014/15 & 2015/16.

6th 
There are three postcode areas with 42 attacks reported – NG (Nottingham), TN (Tunbridge Wells) and GU (Guildford).

The NG (Nottingham) was the eighth most dangerous location in 22/23. This year sees a 14% increase on the 26 attacks in 22/23. This is the fourth consecutive year that the NG postcode area has appeared in the list of most dangerous locations for dog attacks. The postcode area has featured in the high-risk locations nine times since Royal Mail began reporting postcode specific figures. 

The TN (Tunbridge Wells) postcode area has seen a 35% decrease in attacks this year – down on the 65 reports in 22/23. The TN postcode area has featured in the most dangerous list for dog attacks for 10 consecutive years. The postcode area placed first on the list for dog attacks on Royal Mail postal workers last year.

This is the first time the GU (Guildford) postcode area has featured on the high-risk list since 19/20. The 42 attacks reported this year shows a 45% increase on last year’s 29 incidents. This is the fifth time the postcode area has appeared in the most dangerous locations list for dog attacks since Royal Mail began reporting postcode specific figures.

9th
The S (Sheffield) postcode area saw an 18% drop on attacks compared to last year. There were 41 attacks on Royal Mail postal workers this year, compared to 50 in 2023/24. This is the fourth consecutive year that attacks in the postcode area have dropped; there were 55 attacks in 2021/22. The S postcode area has appeared in every one of the high-risk lists for dog attacks on Royal Mail postal workers since postcode specific figures were reported and has been the most dangerous location for dog attacks three times.

10th 
E (Exeter) and SN (Swindon) had 40 attacks reported in each postcode area.

The EX (Exeter) postcode area this year saw 5% increase on last year’s 38 attacks. The postcode area has appeared in the most dangerous list for dog attacks list four times - since Royal Mail began releasing postcode specific figures on yearly attacks – the previous three being 2019, 2022 and 2023.

This is the first time the SN (Swindon) postcode area has featured in the top high-risk locations. This year has seen a 60% increase on the 25 attacks reported in 22/23.
  

 
Lizz Lloyd, Health & Safety Director, Royal Mail, said: “We are saddened and disappointed to see attacks on our staff continue to increase.

“Dog attacks have a devastating effect on our people, and we are appealing to dog owners to think twice when the postman calls.  All dog attacks can have life changing consequences for victims, even when the physical injury is not significant.

“Almost half of attacks happen at the front door and over a quarter in the front garden, so this is not just a Royal Mail issue, many other organisations face the same problem.”

Dave Joyce, National Health & Safety Officer, Communication Workers’ Union, said: “Dog bite incidents and severe dog attacks are continuing to experience a very concerning increase and upwards trend across the UK and that constitutes a growing risk and occupational safety and health problems for postal workers.

“The key objective of Dog Awareness Week is primarily to remind the public to be aware of their legal and moral responsibilities to control their dogs and prevent dog attacks on postal workers who are providing them with a great public service. The public need to be aware that if their dog attacks a postal worker, they can be prosecuted.”

 
From 17 July, animal welfare charity Blue Cross will be offering a free online webinar called Protect Your Postie.

The webinar, which lasts about an hour, will provide top tips and advice on how customers can protect postal workers who deliver to their home and includes:

• understanding why dogs may act a certain way when a postal worker arrives
• understanding the consequences of an incident 
• simple measures that can be put in place to help manage a dog’s behaviours
• motivation for change, so that their dog doesn’t escalate its behaviour to the point that an attack occurs
• advice on where further help can be found

The course will be delivered on Zoom. Customers will require internet connection and access to a computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone to take part.

Customers will need to register in advance to attend the webinar.

 
Kirsteen Hobson, a postwoman for 10 years, based in Oban Delivery Office, tells her story:

It was a Saturday, and my colleague Gary and I were about an hour and a half from finishing delivery – I wasn’t actually meant to be in on that day I was covering for someone. I had to deliver to a block of flats, and to deliver to this particular address, I had to walk through a closed door then along an exposed open-air balcony. I wasn’t aware of a dog at that property. As I walked through the closed door, I could see the customer was already leaning out of his door. As he greeted me, I looked down at the mail I had in my hand in order to hand it over – at this point, the dog that had been standing alongside him, jumped up and bit me in the face, tearing off my lip. That was the first attack.

Somehow, I managed to push the dog off me – it then jumped up and bit me under the eye and on the forehead.

I pushed the dog off me again and tried to make my way back to the closed door and as I was trying to do this it attacked me again, trying to bite into the back of my thigh leaving teeth-marks, bruising and scratches. I managed to get myself through the closed door and I’ve never been so thankful for the fact it was a closed door because if wasn’t, I don’t think I would have gotten the dog off me again. 

During the attack, the customer was trying to get the dog away from me but couldn’t manage to control it. The dog was just uncontrollable. 

I think my body had gone into fight or flight mode and I managed to get back to the van. I tried to compose myself – I couldn’t see out of my right eye, so had to wipe the blood off my face and then called Gary to see where he was. I told him I needed to get to the hospital as I had been attacked by a dog – I drove a short distance to where he was. He took one look at me and told me to move over, and he drove me to a nearby hospital. 

I was admitted to A&E and they cleaned out my forehead and stitched under my eye and said I would need to go to the plastic surgery unit in Glasgow. My husband had arrived, and we as we had to drive ourselves to Glasgow as there was no ambulance available, I decided to use the toilet before we left as it was a two-and-a-half-hour drive. I thought my lip would be on the floor where the attack had taken place – but when I went to the use the toilet at hospital, my lip fell out of my pocket. It was horrific. I looked on the floor and thought, what is that? Then realised it was my lip. In my head I thought, well, that’s dirty, so I flushed it down the toilet. When I told the nurse what I had done, she told me not to worry, as they wouldn’t have reattached it anyway. 

I was admitted on the same day. I then had two operations. I also had to have the stitches reopened and cleaned again. They left the wounds open until Sunday morning, when they stitched my head, my eye and cleaned out my leg. They also put a drain into my leg. I then came back up to the ward and they told me they wouldn’t attempt any work on my lip until the following Tuesday as they want to ensure there was no infection. I remained in hospital until they began rebuilding my top lip. I had a skin graft using the tissue from inside of my mouth and put that on the front, so they were able to close the gap that was there as there had been quite a chunk taken off it in the attack. 

I was off work for about three-and-a-half-months. I’ve gone back to work but have mainly worked on rural routes with a partner and only to properties where this no dog residing. I’m still not ready to return to my usual route. I’m not normally good at letting things beat me, but this has totally freaked me out and made me very anxious. 

The impact on me outside of work has been awful. I went over to my neighbour’s house and totally forgot they had a dog. When I realised, my neighbour told me she could see my body language change completely. I now have PTSD. It was just so unexpected, and I feel it’s changed who I am. The sound of just one dog barking can send me over the edge. I absolutely love my job. I love the people. I love chatting to customers. I’m hoping that I can get back to where I once was, but I don’t feel ready yet. 
The owner was sentenced to 140 community hours, a one-year community suspension and 10 year ban on owning a dog.The dog was not put down, but it was decided it could be rehabilitated. I don’t know where it is, it’s moved to another property and could be a threat there. 

If I could say one thing to any of our customers who own a dog, it would be to ask them to shut their dog away in a room when answering the door. There are so many customers who try to answer the door to the postie to accept a parcel while at the same time trying to keep the dog inside – just shut the dog in another room. They aren’t going to be in there for long – you’re just accepting the mail – it’s literally seconds.
   

Darren Conlon, a postman for two and a half years, based in Plymouth Delivery Office, tells his story:

The attack happened toward the start of my round and my mail bag was quite heavily laden. I was covering for a colleague during the busy Christmas period and attended a property that I’d delivered to many times in the past – it was a large house with a long driveway. I’d heard dogs in the property but they were always behind the door, so I was never concerned about a potential threat when I first went through the gate. I was walking up the driveway – which was about 50-60 metres long – as I got past the halfway point four dogs ran out from the side of the house. As my bag was so heavy, I had no way of making it back to the gate, so I tried to greet the dogs, so they knew I wasn’t a threat – I’d done this sort of thing before when I had been in the forces – but one of the dogs went straight for me. I tried to block it with my postbag but the dog pulled it out of the way, which made me spin around and it then gripped onto the back of my left thigh. 

The owner then came running out of the house – I was still on the floor trying to fight myself away from the dog which had truly latched on to my leg at this point – she was pulling onto its back legs and was screaming – as was I. 

The owner managed to get the dog off me and I tried to get back to the gate as quickly as possible, all the while hearing the customer shouting at me to close the gate on my way out. As I got back to the gate, I closed it and called my co-worker who came round as quickly as he could. 

There was a lot of blood – as the dog had ripped off a flap of skin, so it wasn’t a very nice injury to have really. I then went to a local medical centre where I had to wait about six or seven hours for them to clean the wound and give me a tetanus injection. The pain from the wound was unbearable and didn’t go away for a good three weeks. I had a few days off work and to be completely honest. the psychological aspect of the attack continues even now. I still fear several places that I have to visit because of what’s happened in the past. It is truly terrifying approaching a door and hearing a dog barking on the other side. 

When a dog is barking and attacking the door, I know where it is. Sometimes it will look at you through the window and run away and my first thought is that it has a potential way of getting out to attack me. Those are the instances that are particularly scary – it gives me a sick feeling. Each time I deliver to a property with a dog, I am always looking for a means to escape. Even thinking about it makes me shake. 

During the summer some customers let their dogs roam around the front gardens – on these days we can’t deliver to anyone as there is a potential danger there, so even customers without dogs won’t receive any mail, which is a shame. 

If I could say one thing to our customers who have pet dogs, it would be we understand the love you have for your animals, and they are there to protect you, but there is always the potential for them to injure us – and this is turn could lead to the dog being put down and you’ll lose your pet as well -and the owner could be prosecuted. We don’t want that. I’ve had dogs myself, so I know how much people love their pets.

 
Royal Mail continues to push for changes in the law to reflect the severity of these attacks as a further form of protection for its people. Following changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act in England and Wales that came into force in May 2014, Royal Mail has carried out over 30 private prosecutions against dog owners. This has punished offenders and further raised awareness. It is hoped that these actions will prevent further attacks by forcing owners to put in place control measures to ensure a dog does not attack again.

We have also successfully launched two actions in the High Court that settled the law in relation to the criminal liability of dog owners when postal workers have their fingers bitten while posting items through a letterbox. These cases clarified the law in regard to whether fingers inserted through a letter box amounted to a trespass and thus gave the householder a potential defence.  The Court held that provided it was for the purpose of posting mail, no trespass was committed. In summing up the judge mentioned that a cage being fitted would go some way to preventing some of the terrible injuries suffered by our colleagues.

 
Dog Awareness posters

• English versionpdf, 3.02 MB
• Scottish versionpdf, 3.04 MB
• Welsh versionpdf, 3.06 MB

Postcard

• Customer postcardpdf, 2.28 MB - to display in a window