A GERMAN shepherd dog which bit and broke the hand of a man walking his labrador will not be put down.

Magistrates decided the dog, called Major, would not have to be destroyed but ordered owner Simon Brown to ensure it was muzzled and kept on a lead in public.

Brown admitted at Worcester Magistrates Court a charge of owning a dog that was dangerously out of control.

Alex Warren, prosecuting, said victim David Bodley and his wife were walking their dog in Hanbury Woods, near Droitwich, when a German shepherd dog attacked their labrador, pinning her to the ground and biting her back and rear quarters.

The court heard that Mr Bodley grabbed his dog but was bitten by the other causing pain and minor puncture wounds to his left arm and breaking a bone in his left hand.

Mr Warren said Mr Bodley controlled the German shepherd with his own lead, returned him to Brown's house nearby and reported the attack to the police.

The court heard that when interviewed Brown said his dog had previously only been aggressive towards other dogs.

He told police: "I won't take him out unless he's on a lead because of what he might do.'"

Emma Smith, defending, said Brown, aged 40, of Dodderhill Common, Hanbury, was a responsible dog owner and this was a one-off incident. She said: "Major is a family pet who gets on well with Mr Brown's two children aged four and 18 months."

Miss Smith said on Thursday, September 20, Brown had left home in a rush for a hospital appointment without checking that his electronic gates were fully closed and did not realise Major had got out.

She called it an out-of-character moment of aggression by the dog, which Brown rescued from a dog's home in 2002.

Since the incident, Major had been kept on a lead and muzzled when being walked and Brown had built new fences at his home.

Magistrates fined Brown £200 and ordered him to pay £1,000 compensation to Mr Bodley, £149.50 for his vet's bill, £60 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.