Dog owner and five terriers attack runner leaving him with 39 wounds and 20 bites

Victim Matthew Glyn feared he would never walk again after the attack in Sturry near Canterbury

A general view of Canterbury Crown Court in Kent. (PA Archive)

A dog owner narrowly avoided jail after he and his five terriers attacked a runner, leaving him with 39 wounds and 20 bites.

The sustained attack left the victim, Matthew Glyn fearing he would never walk again.

Andrew Geering, 54, from Sturry near Canterbury, was handed a suspended prison sentence at Canterbury Crown Court on 10 January.

Mr Glyn was exercising outside Geering’s home when his Patterdale Terrier, Rocky, gave chase, barking and snapping at his heels.

When Mr Glyn tried scaring the animal away, the owner came into view with four more Patterdales on leads.

The prosecutor Amy Nicholson explained that Geering punched the runner twice in the face, grabbed his throat, and dropped the dog leads.

She told the court that the canines repeatedly sunk their teeth into Mr Glyn’s feet and legs and brought him to the floor, during the “terrifying” three-minute ordeal.

The court heard Geering had feared Mr Glyn - who he had never met before - “wished ill” towards his dog Rocky.

Ms Nicholson told the court that Geering eventually ordered the animals to stop and told the victim: “You see what happens when you raise your hand to my dog?”

After the incident, Geering, a former car valet business owner, walked away, leaving the blood-soaked Mr Glyn requiring medical treatment.

Shortly after the attack, Mr Glyn had his wounds cleaned and treated at a nearby hospital.

However, the mental scars left Mr Glyn wrought with anxiety and a fear of running - one of his favourite pastimes.

In a police interview, Geering denied his actions and told officers Mr Glyn’s injuries were consistent with scratches caused by a bramble bush.

But he pleaded guilty last year to causing actual bodily harm and being in charge of five dogs which caused injury while dangerously out of control.

Appearing at court on Tuesday, Mr Glyn told the judge: “Every morning when I put my socks on I see the indentations from where flesh was ripped out by a dog he owns.”

He described being unable to sleep for about a month and complained of sharp pains in the right-hand side of his chest.

Ms Nicholson branded the assault “prolonged and persistent”.

However, Geering’s barrister argued he did not intend for the dogs to attack.

John Fitzgerald, mitigating, explained how the animals intervened when their owner began punching the victim, as opposed “to being set upon” him.

He stressed that Geering, a father, who was of previous good character, was unaware Rocky initially gave chase.

Mr Fitzgerald said Geering only “saw a man he didn’t know approaching the dog and it seemed that man wished ill towards the dog.

“What took place on the footpath was wholly out of character for Mr Geering and wholly out of character for his dogs.”

Mr Fitzgerald said Geering was “a pro-social individual” who, until recently, ran a car valet business employing various workers before becoming unwell with a long-term health condition.

Judge Mark Weekes handed down a 46-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Judge Weekes said: “You were responsible for a deeply unpleasant incident that occurred in relation to Mr Glyn who was entirely blameless in relation to this. He was simply out jogging, engaging in pastimes.

“But running subsequently fills him with anxiety as a direct result of what you did to him that day.”

He told Geering: “The injuries sustained can all too clearly be seen during the fraught and frenzied incident which must have been terrifying”.

Geering was ordered to pay £1,400 at £100 a week and complete 20 probation days.

Speaking after the sentencing, Mr Glyn described the ordeal as “terrifying” and said he hopes nobody suffers a similar attack.

However, he agreed Geering should not go to prison and urged him to mend his ways.

Mr Glyn said: “I think the sentence should have been suspended for longer, personally, but if it causes Geering to change his behaviour then the sentence is fine.

“Let’s hope it does cause him to change his behaviour and nothing like that happens to anyone else.

“Being attacked by those dogs is terrifying.”

The court heard Geering is still in possession of the animals and there have been no further complaints since the attack.