Magistrates in the port ordered that Ronnie the bull mastiff cross must be put down after hearing he had injured three members of the public.

The dog's owner, Stephen Barcock, 38, of Maple Avenue, Fleetwood, must pay fines, costs and compensation of £1,950 . He was also barred from keeping a dog for five years.

Cynthia Cross, a retired nurse, told the court that she was cycling down Copse Road on October 13 last year when the dog ran across barking and chasing her.

It bit her on the right calf before running off.

Craig Lynn, a civil servant, said he was on Meadow Avenue, on November 11, when the dog pushed him against a wall.

Mr Lynn was 5ft 6ins but the dog was 5ft 7 or 8ins on its back legs.
He said: "It jumped on my back with his paws on my shoulders and pushed me and I nearly fell over. I froze. It jumped down and I ran off. I was petrified."

Mr Lynn escaped uninjured, but pensioner Thomas Bridges, who was cycling on Larkholme Avenue, on November 16, when he was bitten, said: "The dog was very ferocious.

"It started circling round my bike in an aggressive manner. When I tried to get off my bike to confront it, that's when it bit me on the leg."

Pensioner Jean Dixon was walking down Meadow Avenue, on November 16, when she heard a "terrible growling".

She said: "The dog came from behind me and jumped right on my back. His paws were down the back of my leg."

Mrs Dixon was left in great pain after being been bitten on the back of her leg.

Wyre Council started receiving complaints about Ronnie in September last year.

Barcock said the first he knew of the trouble was when he was approached by the police. He said if he had known about the first incident the second would not have happened.

There was a 6ft fence around his back garden, but Barcock said Ronnie had learned how to open unlocked windows and doors. The dog has been in kennels since November 22.

Barcock denied four charges of allowing Ronnie to be dangerously out of control and causing injury. He was acquitted of one case.

He told the court he had agreed to Ronnie being destroyed, but later decided to go to court because his children were upset.

He added: "He doesn't deserve to die. As a dog he is a baby."

Barcock was fined £350 for each of the offences, ordered to pay £300 costs and a total of £600 compensation to three injured people. He has 21 days to appeal against destruction of his dog.