A DANGEROUS dog which bit a postman three times will not be put down, a court ruled.

Nico, a large black, brown and white Akita, attacked Royal Mail worker Richard Burgess, in Stirling Road, Bolton.

Dog owner Kyle Ross, aged 25, was given a 12-month community order and ordered to pay £1,810 in costs.

Victim Mr Burgess suffered bites to his thigh, elbow and the left hand side of his body while on a delivery round on May 13.

In a victim impact statement read out in court by prosecutor Joanne Cronshaw, Mr Burgess, who was not present at court, recalled how the dog was "on top of him before he knew it".

He added: "I tried to get it off me but it was too heavy."

Bolton Magistrates Court heard that Mr Ross's house was undergoing renovation work and a gated fence that was usually secured was not.

The court also heard that Mr Ross was in the process of taking Nico's lead off to replace it with another when his attention was distracted, resulting in the dog being able to escape the back garden.

Mr Ross had to shout the dog to stop it attacking Mr Burgess and rang an ambulance.

Following the attack the dog was seized a week later and placed in police kennels.

Melanie Rushmore, an expert witness in dog behaviour, assessed the dog.

She said: "This was a territorial response. All dogs are territorial animals.

"I was surprised when assessing Nico how attentive and very well trained he was.

"There is nothing in his behaviour to suggest he would be a risk to the public. This was a set of exceptional circumstances."

She also assessed Mr Ross and said he came across as "a very responsible owner".

Defending Mr Ross, Krystal Savoie, said: "This is a much loved dog and very much a part of the family.

"Mr Ross is a very responsible owner, he always has his dog on a lead and muzzled and now has a secured gate, which is padlocked and remains locked. Nico is not a dangerous dog.

"He went through a series of challenging exercises with Mrs Rushmore, intended to challenge and threaten him and he didn't show any signs of dangerous behaviour.

"Mr Ross blames himself for what has happened, caused by a momentary lapse of concentration."

Prosecuting, Mrs Conshaw said Mr Burgess had been in a lot of pain and had had to have time off work.

In his impact statement Mr Burgess said: "This is a dangerous dog, it didn't even bark it just came straight at me.

"If this had been a young child it could have been a lot worse. I had done nothing to antagonise it."

Chairman of the bench David Hendry ruled that the dog would not be destroyed but would be if it attacks again.

Mr Hendry added: “We are satisfied that this dog is not a risk to public safety.”

Conditions of the sentence were that Nico would not be left unsupervised, that he was always muzzled and on a lead and not exercised by anyone under the age of 16.

A spokesman for Royal Mail, said: “Our postmen and women deliver to over 29 million addresses across the country.

"We ask them to exercise caution and respect for all family members, including pets when delivering the mail. "This summer, we are also appealing to dog owners and their families to help reduce the numbers of attacks, particularly at the door and in the garden.”