MAGISTRATES have ordered that a dog be destroyed after it bit a child at a Bournemouth pub.

The Staffordshire bull terrier injured an eight-year-old boy at The Iford Bridge bar and grill on August 22 last year.

It was heard that two other children have already been injured by the dog.

The case was heard in Poole on July 6. Magistrates ordered the dog, which is called White, be destroyed within 21 days unless an appeal is lodged.

The decision was made on the grounds that the dog constitutes a danger to public safety.

It was also said that the dog had already behaved aggressively to two other children already.

White’s owner, Lance Charles De La Cour, admitted being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control and injured another.

He was sentenced to a community order and must comply with a five-month electronically-monitored curfew.

During the hours of the curfew, the defendant, 43, must remain at his home in Throop Road, Bournemouth.

He was also ordered to pay £250 compensation to the family of the child, who cannot be named.

No order for costs was made due to the defendant’s lack of means.

A warrant was initially issued for his arrest after he failed to attend. However, it was later withdrawn when De La Cour arrived at 2pm.

A spokesperson from Dorset Police said: “We were called to The Iford Bridge in Old Bridge Road shortly before 6pm on August 22 2017.

“It was reported that a dog had bitten a child.

“The youngster was eight at the time of the incident.”

In November last year, the life of a pit bull terrier was spared after police told magistrates there was no evidence it was dangerous. The dog faced a potential destruction order as it is a banned breed. Its owner, who lives in Bournemouth, had also allowed the pet’s liability insurance cover to lapse, which led to the animal being confiscated by police.

However, officers agreed that despite the dog being on the banned breeds list, there was no evidence of it having a poor temperament.

The Dangerous Dogs Act was introduced in 1991, largely in a bid to clamp down on dog fighting by prohibiting the ownership of favoured breeds.

Under the act police can confiscate and destroy banned dogs even if they are well behaved and there have been no complaints made.