A HULL delivery driver has won thousands of pounds in compensation after he was attacked on his rounds by a Japanese fighting dog.
Derek Brady, 53, suffered permanent damage to his leg, was forced to take six months off work and was traumatised by flashbacks after the Akita tore into his calf as he delivered two parcels to a house in the East Riding.
Now, after winning a five-figure sum in compensation from the dog's owners, Mr Brady is calling for tighter controls on Akitas.
He said: "I can't understand why anybody would want one as a pet – they should be included in the Dangerous Dogs Act.
"The animal really went for me and, if it had broken loose, it could have killed me. After the attack I had nightmares about a shadowy figure of a dog and lots of blood and was often quite tearful.
"I went to see a counsellor every fortnight for about a year and a half and the ordeal really affected me."
Mr Brady, of Kingswood, was delivering the parcels to a house in the East Riding hamlet of Gransmoor near Bridlington in May 2010 when he saw the dog tied up.
Realising the owners were not at home, he decided to leave them in a nearby shed.
He said: "It appeared placid so I thought I would be OK.
"But while I was writing a card to say I'd visited the house, it suddenly came out of nowhere and sunk its teeth into my leg.
"It was very painful and what happened next isn't clear but I somehow managed to fight the dog off and move away.
"There was blood gushing down my leg and the dog had ripped my trousers. I can still see it in my mind."
Mr Brady knew he needed to get back to his delivery van to call for help but said the short journey felt "like an eternity."
In a panic, he rang his wife and the depot for the Home Delivery Network to alert colleagues, who rang 999. I was told to tie my T-shirt around the wound and I lay down until an ambulance came," he said.
"My leg had just gone cold, I could see a bone sticking out of the wound and it was really gory."
Mr Brady was rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary before being taken to Castle Hill Hospital where he underwent surgery and had a skin graft.
The dog owners were taken to court and had to pay the compensation out of their home insurance while their dog was seized by police and destroyed.
Two years on from the attack, Mr Brady is still suffering and says his leg often aches and he struggles to get up and down the stairs during the winter months.
He said: "I think it was irresponsible to leave the dog outside on a lead which was about four metres long.
"If it had wanted to, it could have gone through the open gates and bitten a passer-by.
"I'm pleased to have won the financial settlement to compensate for all the pain and trauma I suffered.
"But there's still quite a noticeable scar caused by the 6in wound and I'll have this for the rest of my life."
