A woman who deliberately set her Staffordshire Bull Terrier on a cyclist when she ignored her has narrowly avoided an immediate prison sentence.

Katie Carruthers reacted angrily when the woman would not speak to her and threatened to kill her before her dog, Blue, dragged her to the ground on her command.

The woman suffered a serious injury to her arm and a judge ruled the Staffie should be put down as he branded it a danger to the public.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 41-year-old was struggling to cope with the death of her mother at the time of the incident.

Carruthers shouted at the woman that she would ‘kill her’ before shouting ‘get her, Blue’ and the dog jumped at her and bit her on her forearm, dragging her to the ground.

The judge heard how Carruthers shouted ‘get her’ again and the dog dragged her onto the road.

Carruthers, of North Road, Darlington, pleaded guilty to being the owner in charge of a dog dangerously out of control in July 2022.

A charge of wounding with intent on the same woman as a result of the incident was withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Ellen Wright, mitigating, said her client was in a very bad place at the time of the offence as she had recently lost her mother.

“She wasn’t thinking correctly at the time. She was desperate for help and support.

“She was emotionally irrational due to the grief she was experiencing,” she said.

“We would ask for any custodial sentence to be suspended; she has an unenviable record but she has been out of trouble for a significant period of time.”

Miss Wright told the judge how Carruthers accepted that she had deliberately set Blue on the dog and urged him to spare the dog, which she had owned since it was a puppy, from being put down.

She added: “She knows how serious the situation is for Blue and she wants the court to know that she will do anything that is required of her in order for her to be reunited with him.

“She says that Blue is her life and he gives her purpose in life and she feels like she has let him down desperately – it was not Blue’s fault what happened.”

Recorder Andrew Latimer sentenced Carruthers to two years in custody suspended for two years and ordered the destruction of the dog after it attacked on command.

“It is accepted that Blue attacked on command and apparently stopped attacking when told to do so,” he said.

“The dog has been trained to show aggression when told to and can stop aggression on command. There’s no evidence that you trained the dog and having seen you this afternoon, it would seem that you certainly didn’t.

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“I have to satisfy myself that the dog is not a danger to public safety but the short answer to that is that I am not satisfied.

“I’m confident that this dog, trained by others and used by you, is a danger to public safety.”

Carruthers was also ordered to pay £200 in court costs, attend 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and was made subject of a curfew between 7pm and 7am for three months.

She was also issued with a ten-year restraining order.