A man who was in charge of a dog which bit a teenager on her lip causing a serious injury has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Ellie Nicholson, now aged 18, and her mother had been visiting a friend’s house in Oakapple Close, Colchester, in July last year when she was attacked by a Staffordshire bull terrier called Paris, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The dog’s owner Nathan Tebbs had gone out and knowing that Ellie and her mum were visiting the house Paris was put in a room out of the way.

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Craig Forward, who lived at the address, needed to go into the room where Paris had been left and moved her into another room.

 Unfortunately the door to that room blew open and Paris had gone to the living room where Ellie was sitting on a sofa looking at her phone.

She said “hello” and Paris had then jumped in the sofa and bit her upper lip.

She screamed out and her mother and her mother’s friend went to her aid and got the dog to let go of her face.

East Anglian Daily Times: Ellie Nicholson was left with serious injuries after the attack.Ellie Nicholson was left with serious injuries after the attack.

However, Paris had then latched on to the back of her right arm and her right wrist piercing the skin.

Forward rushed in and pulled Paris off Ellie and an ambulance and the police were called.

He later admitted he had been in control of Paris at the time of the attack.

Ellie was taken to Brookfield Hospital and underwent surgery to repair the damage to her lip.

Pamela Rose for Forward said what happened was an accident and he had not intended for the dog to escape from the room he had put it in.

Forward, 31, of Oakapple Close, Colchester who admitted being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog causing injury in July last year.

Sentencing him to an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years, Judge Nicola Talbot-Hadley described the incident as “horrific”.

She said Miss Nicholson’s injuries had healed but she would be left with some scarring.

She said measures taken to keep Paris out of the way of visitors on the day in question had not been good enough.

In addition to the suspended sentence Forward was given a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a three-month curfew between 9pm and 7am.

He was also ordered to pay £250 compensation to Miss Nicholson.

Judge Talbot-Hadley made a contingent destruction order in respect of Paris and directed that she should be spayed, kept on a lead and muzzled in public, not left unsupervised with anyone under 18 and locked in a room when strangers visit the house.