THE owner of a dog which bit a man on the backside was ordered to pay £250 compensation by Blackburn magistrates.

The court heard that Mark Parry had tied the dog to a fire escape and when Michael Scahill stepped out of the back door at Maxideals he was grabbed from behind by the alsatian.

Parry, 19, of Colenso Road, Blackburn, had been convicted in his absence of allowing the dog to enter a non public place and injury being caused. The incident happened exactly 12 months to the day before Parry appearing in court. The magistrates made no penalty other than the compensation order after deciding it was not practicable to make a destruction order against the dog which, they were told, Parry had returned to his mother who had then given it away. Stephen Parker, defending, said the dog had belonged to someone who died and his mother had taken it in rather than see it roaming the streets.

She asked her son to look after it and he reluctantly agreed.

"He was going to an address at the back of Maxideals and he knew he could not take the dog in," said Mr Parker.

"He tied it to the fire escape but unfortunately, that was adjacent to a door."