A HAMPSHIRE DOG groomer whose pet burst through a neighbour's garden fence and attacked her has been barred from having custody of a dog for ten years.

Dawn Clarke, 39, who owns Ringwood Pets in Ringwood, allowed Pyrenean mountain dog Ben to get into neighbour Trudi Ziegler's garden where he bit the woman several times, a court heard.

Judge John Harrow branded mother-of-two Clarke "reckless and irresponsible" after it emerged that the dog went on to savage two more people after Clarke sold him to another woman without telling her of his history.

Prosecutor Michael Tomlinson told Bournemouth Crown Court that Miss Ziegler was attacked by 11-year-old Ben when he wandered through a broken fence and bit her several times in August last year.

Clarke said she intended to have Ben put down but then sold the dog to unsuspecting Samantha Sainty, said Mr Tomlinson.

Mrs Sainty's parents-in-law were attacked by the dog and left with serious injuries.

An examination of Ben revealed that his vocal chords had been illegally cut, meaning he was unable to bark or growl in warning, the court heard.

Clarke pleaded guilty to failing to keep a dog under control.

Ben has since been put down.

Clarke, of Verwood Road, Three Legged Cross, was also sentenced to a 12-month community order, including 180 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay £750 in compensation to Miss Ziegler.

She will be allowed to have contact with dogs for the purposes of dog grooming, added Judge Harrow.